The Third Impact Trilogy: Part 1 Apocalypse
by Kenshiro Mitsui -san
Summary: The DISCONTINUATION of this story, and news on my other works... Check the newest chapter for details.
1. Active Duty

_This is a rough (un-preread) version of Phase 1.  Still, I feel that it's decent enough to release, so here it is._

Note:  I think I made a boo-boo!  From what I understand from other people, MGS1 started in 2004-2005.  If that is true, then I'll just have to push the date back about 5 years to fit this story better (If I can make Metal Gear Solid 2 disappear from MY timeline, I can push back MGS1 a few years, so too friggin bad!).  
  


UPDATE NOTE:  I'm going through a middle of story-identity crisis.  At first, this was a straight up evafic, then I started to gravitate towards dominant MGS elements, and now... I've made a decision; several major decisions concerning this fiction, in fact.  I will try to make this story with equal elements of MGS and Eva.  I received a few comments about this, so I will try to appease the readers.  In an attempt to make this series more Eva-ish, I will change the title of the story.  This will be only one of several changes I will be making, so there will definitely be a delay in the number of new chapters that will come out after chapter 12.  Lastly, I've made a decision concerning the next thing I will be writing.  It will be a continuation of this series.  In fact, I will make a fanfic trilogy, called the "Third Impact Trilogy."  I cannot disclose much information about the next two pieces in the trilogy, but I will say that the second part will involve Shinji... and Asuka... and a child.  'Nuff said!  So, anyways, please excuse our dust here at 11-41 as we shape this tale for a better tomorrow.  Enjoy the rest of the story.

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Prologue:  After the Shadow Moses Incident, Snake went back to his home in Alaska to retire once again.  Then, Second Impact happened, and Snake was forced to move further south, to Montana, due to flooding in Alaska caused by extreme weather changes from the Impact.  In the 14-15 years that passed, Snake is now in his late forties, and still in very good physical condition.  Even though he hates it, he works as an occasional supervisor to the UN and even trains the UN covert ops agents every once in a while to supply himself with money.  He lived alone in a horse ranch he bought after moving to Montana, the way he had for many years, not knowing that he will be called up for active duty once again...

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- - 2000 A.D.  Shadow Moses Island, Alaska, USA  
  


Snake had a terrible time avoiding the wolf-dogs that inhabited the caves leading to the communication tower.  He tried very hard not to kill any of these majestic animals attacking him, so he resorted to kicking the dogs to hold back their attacks.  He viciously struck one of the dogs with his foot, and made a beeline for the small space in the rock wall where he could crawl to safety.  Breathing a sigh of relief after narrowly escaping the wrath of the wolf-dogs, he made his way through the dimly-lit passage.

Meryl was waiting for Snake near a door.  "Did you have a little trouble, Snake?" she asked while petting one of the wolf-dog cubs on its head.  She looked as if she was trying to hold back an incoming bout of laughter.

"Very funny," Snake replied, as he used his level-6 keycard to open the door.

Meryl followed him.  "Oh, come on, Snake, I was just playing around with you!"  She suddenly paused in her tracks.    
"Wait Snake," she blurted out.  "This place is mined."

Snake looked at her comrade oddly.  "How do you know that?"

"Just watch," she said with a smile.  Meryl started on a curved path on the open space ahead, her footsteps distinctively marked on the loose ground.  She continued carefully in this manner until she reached the other side of the area.

"What do you think?  Pretty impressive huh?" she said boastfully.

Snake was puzzled further more by Meryl's new ability.  "How did you do that?"

Meryl shrugged.  "I don't know.  I think that when Psycho Mantis dove into my mind, it gave me the ability to sense these mines.  So, are you impressed?"

"Well... a little," Snake said as he walked toward her, following the path she laid out for him.

Meryl pouted.  "Only 'a little?'"

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400 yards away from the two partners, a lone sniper tried to steady her involuntary shaking that was affecting her aim.  Reaching into a shirt pocket, she procured a small medicine pill, which she thrust into her mouth and swallowed.  She took aim at the red-headed woman, and smiled.

-------------------------------------

Meryl gasped.  She noticed the luminous red dot on her chest.  It could only mean one thing - - her doom.

Snake tried to get her attention.  "Meryl?  What- -" He fell silent as he saw the red laser move its way down her body.

A loud rifle shot rang out; immediately following the bang was a spray of crimson emanating from Meryl's left lower thigh.

"AAAHHH!!!!"

"MERYL!!"

Before Meryl could react to the first attack, a second shot went through Meryl's right thigh, causing her to fall to the ground.  As this happened, Snake immediately took cover behind a corner.  There was nothing he could do for her.  It was the oldest trick in the sniper's book: shoot the partner, and wait for the target to come out.

Meryl was now trying to reach her .50 Desert Eagle with her left hand.  "My- - my gun... I can't reach it!"

"Meryl, stay sti- -" Snake was interrupted by another gunshot; this time the distant sniper aimed at Meryl's arm.  The bullet drove through flesh and bone and muscle, and the pain was excruciating.  
"MEERRRYYLL!!!!!"

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11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Enter Phase 1:  Active Duty_

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- - 2016 A.D.  UN-owned _Typhoon-class submarine __Kunashiri, off the coast of Yokohama, Japan_

Snake woke up from his nightmare with a jolt, and he found himself in a strange room.  It was dimly lit with a lonely ceiling light directly above him, and the walls appeared to be made of metal.  In an "attempt" to make the room more aesthetically pleasing, the walls were painted maroon.  Snake was dressed in jeans, a plain white shirt, and a well-worn pair of genuine leather cowboy boots.  A middle-aged Japanese man was pacing back and forth in front of where he was seated.  He stopped in front of him, and proceeded to talk to him in English.

"So, you are finally awake.  It is an honor to finally meet the legendary Solid Snake, the man who's stopped entire terrorist organizations dead in their tracks."

"...The hell are you?" Snake growled dangerously at the man.

"I am Commander Tsuruko Tadokoro, the man in charge of your upcoming mission."  The commander continued to pace in front of Snake.

"So, why am I being called up?"  His voice sounded world-weary, the product of fine whiskey, and years of chain-smoking.

"We need you for a mission, Snake," the commander answered him composedly.

Snake turned his head away.  "The name is David... And I swore that I would never use that name again... that I would never fight."

"I'm sorry Snake, but the UN really needs you."

"Well, you could have at least asked nicely, instead of sending over the Gestapo-wannabes to pick me up.  That's no way to treat a tired old man like me..." Snake retorted, sarcasm dripping from his hoarse voice. "Couldn't you find someone younger to do your dirty work?"

Tsuruko was taken aback by the response, but he recovered quickly and smiled for a second.  "There is no one else in history in your... line of work as good as you, so we had no choice.  This mission requires the best.  We need you to infiltrate a city... Tokyo-3, to be more exact."

Snake had heard of the city before - - a heavily protected city designed to defy Heaven itself by withstanding the wrath of the Angels, a group of aliens currently attacking Tokyo-3.  "The Geofront?  You don't mean..."

The man nodded once.  "Yes Snake, we need you to infiltrate the NERV headquarters."

"Well, this is a strange request," Snake said.  "Infiltrate NERV?  Aren't they the ones who've been saving our butts with those giant robots?  Why would the UN need to infiltrate them?"

"If you would look at the screen please..."  A man's profile appears on a screen in front of Snake.  "This man is Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV.  As you know, the purpose of NERV is to prevent a possible Third Impact by means of the Evangelions, giant bio-mechanical creations born from the Angels' own technology.  The UN has received information concerning Ikari and the Third Impact.  We believe that Ikari is planning to use the Evangelions to start the Third Impact, rather than protect it."

"..."

"Yes, I know.  So, these are your mission objectives - - you must infiltrate the Terminal Dogma," Tadokoro says while pointing at the screen, which shows a map of Terminal Dogma, "Collect any information you can about Ikari's plans, and dispense of Commander Ikari if he does plan to begin Third Impact.  As a secondary objective, if Third Impact can be initiated using Evangelions, you must find a way to contain the Evangelions in any way possible."  The screen flickers, and shows the faces of the three Evangelion pilots.  "These are the pilots of the Evangelions," Tadokoro says.  "Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, and Shinji Ikari."

(Ikari?  Is he the commander's son?) Snake thought.

"Currently, Ayanami and Soryu are unable to pilot their Evangelions, which leaves Ikari and his Unit-01," a picture of a berserk Unit-01 flashes on screen, "as a threat if Evangelions can be used for Third Impact.  In any case, Snake, one viable option in disabling the Evangelions would be to render these three pilots... inert."

Anger wrought Snake's face as he stood up to challenge the man's request.  "WHAT!  You want me to KILL innocent children for the sake of your mission?!?  I don't think so..."

"I did not say that you have to kill the pilots, we just need a way to disable the Evangelions somehow."

Snake sat back down, boiling in resentment.  An uncomfortable silence follows.

Breaking the silence, Tadokoro asked Snake, "So, will you do it?  You may not like doing this again, but this is important.  This is for the safety of the human race."

"It always is..." Snake muttered.

"Snake, this is more important than Metal Gear.  If Third Impact happens, billions of people will literally vanish from the face of this earth.  Whether you want that to happen or not is up to you."

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- - NERV headquarters, Tokyo-3, Japan

Inside NERV headquarters, deep inside the Geofront, Major Misato Katsuragi and her crew contemplated why NERV is on first-level alert even after all Angels have been destroyed.

"So, what do you think is gonna happen?"  Misato asked her crew while taking a sip of coffee.

Makoto Hyuga, Misato's assistant, replied, "Well, NERV is useless now that all the Angels are dead, so..."

Shigeru Aoba finished his sentence.  "...so someone will be coming for us now."  

Maya Ibuki, NERV computer operator, sat at her console silently, not wanting to think about the future.

Misato stared at her mug briefly before placing it on a counter.  "We'd better be careful about whatever army will be sent against us.  This place is meant to withstand Angel attacks, not human attacks."  She thought for a second.  "I want extra protection for our pilots.  This just might be the end..."

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The Evangelion willed him to get inside... and so he did, reluctantly.  Entering the plug, he positioned himself on the familiar seat, and squirmed lightly as the LCL flooded the interior of the entry plug.  Breathing in deeply, he watched as a plethora of lights and sounds filled the HUD (Heads-Up-Display), and the Evangelion was activated.

He hated this.  Every single time.  He did not want to do this; it was just something he felt he had to do - - for Misato, for Rei, for Asuka (who was battling the Eva-PMs outside), and for his father... from whom he wanted the only thing he sorely needed those past few years - - love.

The Geofront was rocked by an enormous cross-shaped explosion, and a swirl of dust and debris encircled the Unit-01.  Shinji looked up from his controls, and began to search for the battle, only to find that it was over.  What he did see was a small group of white vultures, carrying the spoils of victory in their bloody claws - - the tattered and torn remains of Unit-02.  His lip trembled.  Asuka was certainly - - 

(No... Asuka... I - -)

A primal urge came across Shinji Ikari, the pilot of the Evangelion Unit-01, and a blood-curdling scream came from this throat, to echo amongst the swirling rubble around him.

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Shinji Ikari woke up from his nightmare with a jolt, and he found himself sitting alone in the metrorail transport that encircled Tokyo-3.  It was strange; he's had that dream twice already since Kaworu died, and - -

He stopped himself in the middle of this thought, and placed his attention on the cabin window behind him.  The city was nearly deserted, as most of its inhabitants have left for fear of the constant Angel attacks.  The building where Shinji attended school was deserted as well, and so was the apartment building where he lived.  The streets were desolate, with the exception of a lone stray dog or cat meandering about one of the alleys.  With the SDAT player blocking off the sounds of the metrorail, Shinji lost himself as he reflected on the past few weeks.

(I don't care what happens to me anymore.  Kaworu's dead by my hands, Asuka is not won't help me anymore, and neither is Rei.  But I can feel that something is coming - - something bad.)  He chuckled darkly, silently to himself.  (Let it come.  It might be my one escape...)

The metrorail stopped near the NERV hospital in the Geofront, and this was where Shinji got off.  Every chance he got since Asuka was placed here, he would visit her.  The visits were all the same: the same desperate cries for help, and the same answer, every time - - silence.  Occasionally, Shinji's mind would think about what might be under the flimsy gown that she - - but, no, Shinji would stop himself.  He was just a child, after all... just like her.

The hospital was almost empty, save for a few nurses taking care of the sparse amount of patients scattered throughout the building.  Shinji took the elevator up to the floor where Asuka's room was.  He stopped where Asuka's door was, and took a deep breath before entering and opening the door.

"Asuka?"

The room was silent.  There were no ECG machines, nor were there medication bags hanging from the hook attached on top of the ceiling.  There was only a bed, fixed neatly, and a rolling bed table.  No Asuka.  Confused, Shinji decided to look inside the bathroom, again only to see nothing.

"Asuka?" he called out again.  (Was she already discharged?)

He walked outside to the small nurses' station.  "Do you know what happened to the patient that room over there?" he asked, pointing to Asuka's former room.

"She was ordered to be discharged from the hospital," the charge nurse replied, "even though she was still unconscious.  I don't know where they've taken her.  It must be classified or something."

Shinji walked away, and said an absentminded "thank you" to the nurse.  He decided to head home to see if Asuka was there.

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Two mysterious men sat down to talk at a darkened office.  One man spoke.

"So, Snake has chosen to accept the mission."

"Yes.  Ikari, that fool, hasn't a chance in the world."

"It will not be him, but I who will control the Third Impact."

"But what about SEELE?  They desire to control the Impact as well."

"They are pawns as well.  Leave them be for now.  They will not affect my plans as of yet."

"Yes, sir."

"Return to NERV.  Keep in touch with any significant events that happen there.  I want to make sure that everything is right."

"Understood..."

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Snake was led into a locker room.  Inside were several items: a garment bag, a pair of scissors, and next to the scissors, a familiar article of clothing - - a dark blue bandanna.  When Snake emerged from the room, he was wearing his trademark sneaking-suit, complete with a utility belt with pouches hanging from it, similar to the one he wore in the Shadow Moses mission. He noticed it was considerably easier to move around in this suit.  Hypothermia was not something to worry about in this mission.  The bandanna he wore on his forehead held back his long, shoulder-length hair.  He opted not to take the haircut. 

(Well Snake, one more time for the world...)

A pretty Japanese woman approached Snake.  "Hello Solid Snake.  I am your analyst.  Please walk this way."

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END OF PHASE 1.

This is Phase 1.  Yes, there is little action in this chapter, but I guarantee that it will get much better.  As for the Evangelions, we'll be seeing quite a bit of them, as will Snake.  Keep reading - -  it gets better.

Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios.  All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.

Updated 12.15.02


	2. Saviors

NOTE:  This chapter has been rewritten in the same manner as Phase 1.  I plan to rewrite all the chapters up to Phase 8, with the help of pre-readers.  I hope that this will pick up some new fans, and appeal greatly to the old fans.

Another quick note - - there may be inconsistencies between the old chapters and new chapters on FFN, so please bear with me since I'm only one person, and I'm doing the rewrites one by one.

Ojisan is a term of respect used for your elders in Japan.

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Major Misato Katsuragi of NERV still cannot help but feel worried, as she took an elevator to the lower bowels of the facility.  Security has certainly been increased, especially in the entrances and hallways, and the bodyguard detail for the pilots was doubled, yet something deep within her was repeating Murphy's Law:  anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

The past few weeks were no exception to the rule: everything has been a downward spiral for everyone in NERV.  No one was the same anymore.  The enigma that is Rei (and Ritsuko's mind) was unraveled, revealing the truth behind Rei's mysterious origins... with grisly results.  In addition to Asuka's poor mental condition, Shinji wasn't very well off either after the 17th Angel incident.  No one knew that Kaworu would turn out to be an Angel, and the realization, along Kaworu's death, snapped Shinji's mind like a dead twig.  And of course, there was - -

"Kaji..." Misato whispered to herself.  "Why did you leave me like this?"  she asked herself quietly, trying to hold back her tears...

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11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion**** :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: New Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 2:  Saviors_

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Shinji found himself taking a detour through the rocky outcrops near the outskirts of Tokyo-3.  He visited this place frequently, ever since finding out the real truth about Rei.  But at that moment, his thoughts were on other matters.

He looked towards the city's abandoned buildings, and stopped in his tracks for a moment.  He felt something heavy in his chest, and his arms began to tremble slightly as he pushed tears away from his eyes with his right hand.

(What did I save,) Shinji asked himself.  (A bunch of buildings?  People who left me?  Abandoned me... Forsaken me...  I hurt them all... Misato.  Rei.  Father.  Kaworu.  Asuka...)  

He sat down on the hard ground and continued to stare at the darkening city skyline.

A clap of thunder rang through the sky, which almost drowned out the sound of rustling leaves behind Shinji.

"Asuka?" Shinji blurted out unknowingly, the noise startling him.

He saw nothing, except for a glint of light green and a glowing pair of what he thought looked like...

"Eyes?"  Shinji rubbed his own eyes to make sure his tears were not obscuring his vision.  When looked at the same spot again, there was nothing there but the tree line.

"It's probably just those bodyguards I saw lurking around," Shinji reasoned with himself.  "No big deal..."

The rain began to pound the grey concrete of the road mercilessly, and Shinji decided that it was probably time to go home.  He ran towards the direction of Misato's apartment complex.

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At the same moment, a man wearing a gray poncho walked down the empty streets of Tokyo-3.  He was carrying a large duffel bag of the very same color as his poncho.  On his lips was a cigarette that seemed to defy the rain by staying lit in it.  He was about to turn into a corner when - -

THUMP

A boy ran into him head first, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground, and the man to drop his duffel bag.  The bag made a muffled, metallic sound as it hit the wet sidewalk with a splash.

"Ohh!  _Gomen__ nasai, Ojisan!" said the young Japanese boy, as he tried to pick himself up off the wet sidewalk.  The boy bowed his apologies several times before Solid Snake placed his hand on the kid's shoulder._

"No need to bow for me kid," he said in Japanese with a faint smile.  "That's a bit too much for a stranger like me."

"It was my fault.  I did not see you coming, _Ojisan," the young boy said, his head still hanging in embarrassment._

Snake laughed to himself as he turned around to pick up his bag.  "I told you kid, it's ok.  And who are you calling _Ojisan, anyways? I'm not that old-looking, am I?"_

Snake didn't get an answer back.  The boy continued to run in the direction he was originally going.  (What are people still doing in Tokyo-3?), Snake thought to himself.  (I'm surprised there's still someone who wants to live in this God-forsaken town... strange kid, though.)  Walking along the streets, Snake remembered the quick VR training he received in the _Kunashiri__, the submarine used to take him to Japan, and the rest of his debriefing..._

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"You've done quite well for a man your age, Snake."

"I haven't lost too much of my touch."  Snake climbed out of the VR cage he was training in, and saw a young female waiting for him outside the cage.

"We'll see how well you really do when you get out there," she said, talking to Snake in Japanese.

"Do you doubt my abilities so, Miss Akane?" Snake replied, talking in flawless Japanese.

"Wow, you can speak Japanese.  I should not have expected any less from the 'Legend'.  And there's no need for formalities.  You may call me Eliza."

As they walked to a briefing room, Snake snuck in an opportunity to check out the young analyst.  She had long, black hair, tied in a ponytail, with a few strands of hair covering her pretty face.  She wore the same uniform as the other women in the submarine - - a knee-length khaki skirt with a matching shirt - - but she was wearing the insignia of a UN analyst.  (She also has a figure,) Snake added.  Eliza opened a door, and entered it.

"So, Eliza, what do you do here?" Snake asked her in English.

Eliza Akane answered him.  "I am here to manage the Codec system, and provide you with information on your mission, and your weapons, since I am a military analyst.  Don't worry about the weapons, since this isn't a weapons OSP (On-Site Procurement) mission.  We have selected the weapons you will be carrying with you.  Come this way."

Snake followed Eliza into the weapons room, where he saw his arsenal laid out for him already.  Eliza held up a handgun.

"This is a special Fabrique Nationale Five-seveN pistol, with extra modifications that allow you to fit a suppressor, and shoot tranquilizer darts, in addition to the FN 5.7mm round that can shoot through any kind of body armor in existence.  It can carry a large-capacity 20-round clip, when the occasion calls for it of course.  I trust that you know better than to run into a room shooting like crazy.  We chose this gun because of its high ammo capacity and the ammo's availability throughout NERV headquarters, should you run out."

"It's lighter than what I'm used to," Snake commented.

Eliza chuckled.  "You must be alluding to your old gun, the Mk23 SOCOM pistol.  Though I'm sure that you had no problem handling it, it does prove to be a bit too big in tight situations.  With the sound suppressor and LAM (Laser Aiming Module), that's 16 inches of gun!  The Five-seveN, with the fitted suppressor attached, is only 11 inches long, and weighs in at an empty weight of 700 grams."

Impressed, Snake placed the gun back on the table.  Eliza now brought his attention to several color-coded canisters.

"I am sure you are familiar with these.  These canisters with the green stripe are stun grenades, or flashbangs.  The grenades with the yellow stripe are chaff grenades.  Use them wisely."

Eliza then picked up the familiar Soliton radar device.  "NERV is a very large place, and you will find that out once you get lost.  Therefore, we have placed a map inside the Soliton radar device to help you find your way better through the Geofront, and inside Central Dogma.  Be careful, because when the map is activated, the Soliton turns off its ability to 'see' any enemy troops around you."

"If you need additional weaponry, FN P90 sub-machine guns and other weapons are available in various armories throughout the headquarters, though security is tight around those areas.  You may even need a key card to enter these areas, but I'm sure you'll find a way," the young analyst says while smiling.  "Well, this concludes your weapons orientation.  Please go down to the meeting room.  Commander Tadokoro is waiting for you."

"Since NERV radar will surely pick us up, you must be inserted by surfboard if you want to stay undetected."

"You can't be serious," Snake said with an amused look on his face.

Tadokoro was serious.  "It's the only way.  Your belongings will be placed in a waterproof duffel bag.  A motorcycle will be waiting for you on shore.  Take the motorcycle until you reach the outskirts of Tokyo-3.  From there, you will have to walk to a building shown on your Soliton map as a red dot.  Enter the building, gear up, and wait for further instructions on your Codec.  We'll be ready in 3 hours.  Get ready."

"Surfing, huh?  Well, there's always a first time for everything..."

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Snake has never surfed before, but years of experience shaped him to be a quick learner.  You adapt, or you die, is the rule of the battlefield.

Snake lied down on his belly on the surfboard, as he paddled around in the frigid waters looking for a decent wave.  Thankfully, Snake was provided with a wetsuit to wear over his sneaking suit.  Finding a good-sized wave, Snake tried to stand up on his board.  He almost lost his balance, but quickly got the hang of it as he rode the waves all the way to the shore.

As Snake arrived on the Japanese coast, he removed the duffel bag that was taped onto the surfboard, and placed the board in a safe place.  It was nearing sunset, and the sun seemed to set the sky on fire, but incoming storm clouds seemed to threaten this sight.  After standing on the beach to admire the postcard-perfect scene, he walked from the beach to a nearby road, where he found the motorcycle, a black Suzuki Hayabusa.  Snake began his journey west into the accursed city of Tokyo-3.

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Shinji stopped running after a while, and stood in a dark alley to rest and avoid the rain for a second.  

(I've been running for a while already.  I might have even lost those guards too,) he thought to himself.

He looked at his surroundings.  Graffiti covered the faded brick walls of the alley, and there was refuse and large boxes strewn about everywhere.  Shinji did not remember any of this before.

"Am I lost?" he whispered to himself.  A noise of shuffling noise surprised him from behind, and Shinji turned around quickly to see the source of it.

"W-wh-who's t-there?"  he whimpered to the shadows.

And out of the shadows, came a man.  He was disheveled in his appearance, with long unkempt hair and whiskers, and he wore several layers of dirty clothes to keep away the cold.  He appeared to be a homeless man, forgotten by the city many months or years back.  He spoke in a slow, raspy voice.

"What's wrong little boy?  Are you lost?" The stranger said with a lecherous smile on his face.  He took a step towards Shinji.

Shinji responded in turn by taking a step backwards.  "N-N-No, I'm not l-lost..."

Shinji continued to backpedal slowly until he bumped into another similar-looking man behind him.  "Are you sure kid?" the other stranger said with a near-toothless grin.  "We can help you out... if you can help us with something..."

Shinji backed away from the other man, and was caught in the middle of two strange old men with a look on their faces that could bring out emotions of disgust in Rei.  A fight-or-flight response swarmed Shinji's senses, and strangely enough, he chose - - 

Fight.  Shinji ran over to the nearest would-be mugger, and kicked him square in the gonads.  The man's face squirmed in pain, and he fell to his knees, holding on to his crotch with both hands.  The fight response soon left his body, and "flight" kicked in.  After regaining his balance from giving such a vicious kick, he tried to run away.

The uprising was quelled quickly.  The second man punched Shinji in the gut viciously, and choked him with the other arm.

"You're a real firecracker, you know that, kid?" the attacker said as he pulled an item from his pocket.  He pressed a button, revealing a good-sized switchblade, and held the edge dangerously close to Shinji's throat.  Shinji could smell the alcohol in the man's throat as he whispered something to his ear.

"So you were gonna ignore us... just like the rest of this goddamned town did!  Well then... we'll show them, won't we?"  he said as the knife blade moved closer to Shinji's neck...

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Gendo Ikari sat in his office, his hands blocking the view from half of his face, as usual.  Fuyutsuki stood next to him.

"They'll be coming soon, Ikari, possibly for you, and definitely for the MAGI and EVA-01."

"Let them try.  It will be too late for them, and Third Impact will have been initiated.  It has already begun..."

Fuyutsuki left the room to leave Gendo with his thoughts.  

(I'll be coming soon, Yui...)

Story (C) 2003 11-41 Studios.  All your characters used in this story are belong to their respective owners.

Updated 1.11.03


	3. Enter The Ninja

NOTE:  Welcome to Phase 3 (rewrite).  Where we last left off, Shinji was just mugged by someone!!  What will happen to him...?

By the way, _Ojisan_ is a term of respect used for elderly (male) strangers.  For females, it's _Obasan._

This has been rewritten for the Third Impact Trilogy.

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Shinji Ikari closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, awaiting the searing pain and the death that would follow.  Instead - - 

"I would let go of that kid, if I were you."

Shinji opened his eyes, to see a tall figure, covered in a grey poncho, standing in the rain outside of the dark alley.

"_O- -  Ojisan?_"

The attacker that Shinji had taken down suddenly stood up, with another knife in his hand.

"Stay out of this, stranger!!" he screamed at Snake.  Snake smiled, dropped his duffle bag on the ground, and motioned at him to come.

"You're asking for it, man!!"  The person lunged towards Snake with his blade, which Snake avoided deftly.  The attacker's momentum carried him past Snake, and Snake took advantage of this.  He seized the street bum by his shirt collar, and violently slammed the back of his head on the wet sidewalk with one swift move.  Blood oozed out of his head, and the man laid still.

Both Shinji and his assailant stood there silent for a moment.

"Ohsawa?" he called out to his once partner-in-crime.  "Ohsawa, can you hear me?"

Anger overcame the mugger, and he once again threatened to thrust his knife blade into Shinji's neck.  "You... bastard!!!!!  Now he's really gonna get it!!"  He raised his knife up high, and made a downward stroke to stab his hostage.

Shinji closed his eyes, and awaited death to take him.

Snake reached for his Five-seveN in his hip holster.

And at the same time, steel cut through flesh, and blood was spilt in the cold, rainy night...

-------------------------------------

11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: New Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 3: Enter the Ninja_

-------------------------------------

(I'm still alive?) Shinji asked himself.  He opened his eyes, and was treated to the sight of blood covering his shirt.  He opened his mouth to scream, but a different voice was heard.

"AAAHHHHHGGH!!!!!  MY HAND!!!"  There was only a bloody stump left where the attacker's knife, and hand, once was.  In a matter of seconds, the man's neck began gushing crimson all over the alley.  He tried to use his only hand to stop the bleeding, but to no avail.  He fell to the ground, made a gurgling noise from what was left of his throat, and was dead.  Shinji stood wild-eyed, just baring witness to a brutal execution.  He tried to look for the person who saved him, but all Shinji could see was a pair of green, glowing - -

(Eyes?) he thought to himself.  And just as suddenly as he saw them, they disappeared.

Snake was just as dumbfounded as Shinji was.  He desperately pointed his gun at every direction, trying to find the person responsible for such a violent death.  He could find no one, and soon was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and voices in the distance.

"Ikari!  He's being attacked!" they called out.  Snake knew that it was his cue to leave.  He picked up his duffel bag, and ran towards the other end of the alley.

"_O... Ojisan..._"  Shinji tried to call out to the stranger who had saved him.

Snake turned around briefly to respond - - 

"I told you, don't call me _Ojisan."_

- - before continuing his escape from the NERV security detail.  Snake continued to run until he disappeared in the heavy rain.

-------------------------------------

Major Misato Katsuragi paced in the hallways outside of the main control room, awaiting any word about Shinji.  She became worried when the security detail for Shinji reported that they couldn't find him, and their report that he was covered in blood when they finally found him did not soothe her.  When they did return, she would have to give those idiots a serious tongue-lashing, and she would have a word with Shinji as well, she thought to her.

The door behind Misato opened, and Makoto Hyuga, her aide, stepped out into the hallway.  Makoto did not like to see Misato like this at all - - it saddened him.  It took Makoto some time to muster up his strength to be able to converse with Misato like this, alone.

"M... Major, are you- -"

Misato gave him a small smile.  "Please, Misato is fine.  You don't need to be so formal."

Makoto chuckled nervously.  "Yeah, of course."  He took a step forward, and continued to talk.  "I-I was just worried about you.  You've been such a nervous wreck."

Misato understood his intentions... however...

She walked over to Hyuga.  "Listen, Makoto," she said, "I understand your feelings.  It's just- -  I'm sorry... but I don't feel the same- -"

"Major Katsuragi!"  Misato was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps.  "Major, we have the Third Child here now."  Two of the guards took Shinji in front of Misato.

"Shinji," Misato sobbed, "Shinji, are you okay?"  She clutched Shinji in such a tight hug, that he could barely breathe.  "You're covered in blood!  What happened to you?"

One of the bodyguards spoke up.  "We found two dead bodies with him when we found him.  He says that they attacked him, but someone saved him."

Misato returned her attention to Shinji.  "Shinji!  Thank God...  Who was it that saved you?"

Shinji's thoughts went back to the green pair of eyes that he saw.

"I- - I don't know..."

Misato wasn't satisfied with this answer, but understood the condition that Shinji was in at the moment.

"That's ok... Look, from now on, you have to stay within the NERV facility.  It's not safe in the town anymore, or in the apartments.  Rei is somewhere here as well, and Asuka was taken from the hospital to stay in a room in one of the lower levels.  Please, Shinji, promise me that you'll never do anything like that again."

Shinji bowed his head down.  (I'm so useless...)

"I... I understand..."

Misato breathed a sigh of relief.  "Thank you, Shinji."  Misato now faced the guards.  "If this happens again, I swear I will have your heads on a platter, understood?"

The guards stood up straight, embarrassed by their nearly-fatal blunder.  "Yes Major!" they all shouted in unison.

"Good.  Take Shinji to his quarters, so he can rest and change clothes.  Don't let him leave this facility."

With that done, Misato turned around to talk to Hyuga again.

"Now, Makoto, as I was saying- - Makoto?"

He had already returned to the control room.

-------------------------------------

Snake answered the incoming Codec call.

"This is Snake."

"Snake, this is Commander Tadokoro.  What is your status?"

"I have arrived at the building without any troubles.  What's next from here?"

"A block from your current position, there is an entrance used for sending supplies to NERV.  Since all other gates from the surface city to the geofront are closed, and entering through the front entrance is not an option, this your only chance to get inside.  The gate employs a lift that takes vehicles from the surface to the geofront.  Sneak into one of the NERV supply trucks, take the lift down, get inside the facility, and find yourself a secure position to report in.  If you need help with anything in particular, I can help you.  My frequency is 140.85."

Snake paused to think about this for a second.  (This is familiar...)  "Understood."

The Codec flickered and revealed Eliza Akane's face.  "Hello, Snake, how are you holding up?"

"I'm alright, I just need to get used to this again," he replied.

Eliza smiled warmly.  "I'm sure you will.  I'm just glad you're in good spirits.  Now, I have information about the weapons NERV has at their disposal, as well as intel on the building itself.  I can also help you identify key NERV personnel.  Contact me at 141.92 if you have questions."

"Got it.  I'll call if I'm feeling... lonely," Snake said with a leer on his face.

Eliza giggled at Snake's response.  "Just... come back in one piece," Eliza said.  "Now, I understand there's an old friend who wants to talk to you."

(An old friend?)  

The screen flickers again to show a familiar face.

"Otacon!"

"Hey Snake!  Jeez, you don't look like you've aged very well," Otacon replied with a smile.  Otacon has not changed much, and has retained the same shoulder-length hair and eyeglasses, even though there appeared to be a few gray strands in his hair.

Snake scowled briefly before his face reverted back to a faint smile.  "You haven't been looking any younger yourself," he joked back.  "What have you been doing?"

"Oh, just some work for the U.S. government, and I even helped partially in creating the Evangelions."

"I see.  Still won't give up the dream, huh?" Snake asked, referring to the scientist's love of mecha.

"I told you, Snake.  It's always been my dream... I've always wanted to at least participate in a project such as the Evangelion.  It's like something out of an anime!"

"Ha, the way your mind works, you'd think you were in a cartoon or a piece of fiction."

Otacon shook his head.  "You're still the same..."

Snake's face slowly turned serious.  "Well, I'm afraid that these plans have turned sour."

Otacon's expression became grim as well.  "I had no idea they would be used in instigating Third Impact, instead of preventing it.  That's why I chose to help you on this mission.  I feel obligated, since I helped create Eva.  If you need any information concerning NERV or the Evas, contact me.  My frequency is 141.12."

"Thanks.  It's nice to see you again, Otacon."

Tadokoro appears on the screen again.

"Ok Snake, it's time to move out.  Good luck."

"This is Snake, signing off."

-------------------------------------

The workers in an auxiliary security station were surprised by the klaxons ringing in the room.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Security cameras from sections A-05 through A-12 have been destroyed!"

"Cameras are being destroyed in a northeasterly direction, as if the intruders are headed for the top floors of the commander's offices!"

"Damn!  Send a squadron of guards up ahead at H5-07 to intercept, now!  And notify Captain Katsuragi!"

A large BOOM resonated throughout the NERV facility, shaking up personnel and equipment.

"Intruders have entered the main power room and completely destroyed it!  Power in headquarters is down for 3/5 of the facility!"

"Damn, most of the security cameras are useless now.  Get the Captain on the emergency phone!"

-------------------------------------

Misato answered the ringing phone.  "Yes.  I understand.  I want extra security for the Children immediately!  Keep guards on patrol in the hallways where cameras are down."

"We've already sent an attack squadron to head off the attackers."

"Good... keep two other units on full alert, standing by as backup.  I want no chances taken."

"Understood," the officer on the other end of the phone said before- -

"SHIT!!! ATTACK, WE'RE BEING ATT- -"

- - the phone went dead.

(Damn, has it started already?), Misato thought to herself.  (They sure work fast...)

 "Get ready, just in case," she told the technicians in the control room, as she locked and loaded her own pistol, a Glock G18.

Shigeru and Makoto were already taking out crates full of guns and ammo.  "Way ahead of you, Captain," Shigeru answered.

-------------------------------------

At H5-07, a squadron of 12 guards stood ready with their FN P90 sub-machine rifles.  They heard the footsteps coming, but were caught off guard when they saw that - - 

"There's only one of them?!?"

The figure was dressed in gunmetal-gray armor.  Aside from its green eyes glowing through the masked face, one noticeable feature the figure had was a long Japanese _nodachi the ninja held in one hand.  The soldiers started to fire at the lone attacker, only to find an orange light protecting the body._

-------------------------------------

"AT-field detected in section H5-07!"  Maya declared as she read her monitor.

"What's the blood pattern?"  Misato asked. 

"_Red_..." Maya muttered.

-------------------------------------

Taking the orange light into himself, the ninja held the _nodachi_ up and swiftly blocked the bullets, twirling the sword skillfully.

"Don't let him get any closer," one of the guards said.  "That sword is dangerous!"

It was too late.  The luckless soldiers were within the range of the great curved blade.  The ninja slashed at the nearest one, neatly slicing the gun and his upper torso diagonally.  Blood gushed over his masked face, and on the victim's former comrades.  As the ninja walked slowly over to the next nearest guard, the soldiers dared not fire, fearing that they might hit one of the other guards in such close proximity.  He sliced downward, lopping off the soldier's left arm, before decapitating him with another blow. 

The sight of the two soldiers' deaths created chaos in the ranks, and they all fled.  After using a quick downward swipe to cleanse his blade of spilt blood, the ninja ran after the remainder of the force, and the massacre continued.  Leaping towards a guard further down the hallway, the ninja stabbed the hapless grunt in the back.  Before his victim could even scream, the assassin moved his blade with an upward stroke, splitting the body in half, and spraying crimson on the floor and ceiling.  Three more guards attempted to fire at the ninja, but the bullets were intercepted by the dead soldier's body that the masked man held up.  As soon as the guards stopped firing, the blood-soaked ninja dropped his makeshift shield with one hand, and at the same time, tossed a flurry of _kunais _with the other hand.  The soldiers were immediately turned into fleshy pincushions by the sharp throwing blades.

Out of the corner of his eye, the ninja spotted a guard to his left about to fire his pistol.  At the sound of the BANG, the guard was dead on the spot.  The ninja had deflected the incoming bullet, sending it straight towards the guard's head.

The five remaining guards went behind a corner.  "Toss some grenades!" one of them ordered.  Two guards complied with his order, and tossed 3 grenades hanging from their hip pouches.

"You idiots!! Those were chaff grenades!"

The grenades exploded, and the electrical interference caused by the metal chaff floating in the air seemed to inflict pain on the ninja.  In a matter of moments, the attacker was down on his knees, clutching his head with one hand.

"We got him now!  Pour it on him!"  The five remaining guards came out of their hiding spot, and began to fire unmercilessly at the ninja, only to have the bullets blocked by an AT-field.  "Keep it up!  He can't last long!"

The guards did not count on the chaff losing effect.  As soon as that happened, the ninja was on his feet again.

"RUN- - UUURGHKH..."  In a matter of seconds, three of the guards were simultaneously skewered by the neck on the ninja's long _nodachi_ blade.  Letting go of the sword, he placed his attention on the next nearest guard.  The guard tried to land the ninja on his back with a well-executed front kick, but the ninja countered his foot with another kick.  While their legs were locked together, the ninja twisted his kicking foot to apply pressure on the guard's shin, and- -

SNAP

The guard screamed in pain, as the ninja adeptly snapped the leg in half; the only thing keeping it together was a small patch of skin that was still intact.  He kicked the soldier to the ground, and stomped his head flat, grey and red-colored fluids mixing together on the floor.

The ninja picked his sword up, and saw the last guard trying to make for a door on the other side of the hallway.  The ninja reeled his sword arm backwards, and threw the blade towards the soldier.  The blade's trajectory was low, but it managed to take off both of the runaway's legs, and the poor guard landed in a heap on the floor.  Walking over to the guard, he picked up his blade once again.  The ninja stopped in front of him, and with both hands, raised his sword high in the air.

Before the ninja could finish the job, his AT-field activated at an enormous range.  The intensity and size of the AT-field crushed everything within its range, and left huge depressions in the floors, walls, and ceilings of nearby hallways. The ninja held his head with both hands as if in pain, and he looked as if he was unable to control his AT-field.  Letting out a primal, metallic-sounding scream, the figure started to run away, back in the direction he came from.  In the middle of his run, the ninja's thermoptic camouflage activated, and was nowhere to be seen.

-------------------------------------

A lone figure stood atop a tall building within the geofront, surveying the surrounding areas- - and more importantly, the NERV headquarters.  She was not very tall, and she was wearing gunmetal gray armor that fitted her shapely form.  On her back, she wore a pair of criss-crossed medium katana blades.

Pushing her short gray hair away from her pale face, her scarlet-colored eyes spotted something- - an entrance, with only a few security guards to stand guard.  She smiled warmly; a strange type of smile for that type of occasion...

She turned her head sharply in that direction.  She felt something... a presence so strong, it almost gave her goosebumps.  She knew who it was- - it was the Other.  It was strong, she thought to herself.

And with another smile, she jumped off the 10th story of the building, and landed safely on the concrete below.

-------------------------------------

Two men talked over a secure line...

"Hah, the fool wasn't able his AT-field."

"It was to be expected.  He was merely the prototype for the experiment."

"So, you have mobilized the new test unit to eliminate him?"

"Yes.  The test unit should prove to be more reliable than the prototype.  The unit will finish the objectives, should Snake prove to be of no use to us."

-------------------------------------

"Where's the AT-field?" Misato asked.

"It disappeared."  Maya looked at her screen in disbelief.  "It appears as if it isn't in the building anymore."

This greatly troubled Misato.  (Red?  What does this mean?)

-------------------------------------

Snake waited patiently in the supply truck, hidden in a cardboard box he found outside (Works every time, Snake thought to himself).  After 10 minutes, power to the vehicle lift was restored, and he felt it moving again.  He heard the guards in the front talking.

"So this one guy took out a whole squadron?"

"Yep, all twelve of them, and he was carrying this big-ass sword.  Started chopping 'em up like crazy."

"Damn!  Where is that ninja now?"

"He disappeared from the building, but not before disabling most of the cameras in the whole place.  They have guards patrolling the hallways now, but I'm not sure if that'll be much help."

(A ninja,) Snake thought, (Is there someone else besides me?)

How are the rewrites so far?  Good?  Good.  But, what I could really use now is some help... I haven't heard from most of my pre-readers in a while, so I'm looking for more guys.  If you think you can handle it, drop me a line at the DS or EFO forums, or at KLstumpy@yahoo.com.  Thanks!

Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  Characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.

Updated 1.19.2003


	4. Angel of Death

NOTE:  I realize that the Evangelion characters in this story are playing a bit of a minor role for most of the early part of the trilogy, but their part in this series will grow to be more important as the story progresses, so don't worry EVA fans.  In fact, they already play a larger role than you think already...

Another quick note - - there may be inconsistencies between the old chapters and new chapters on FFN, so please bear with me since I'm only one person, and I'm doing the rewrites one by one.

This chapter has been rewritten for the Third Impact Trilogy.

-------------------------------------

Silence.  That is what came after that final scream - - painfully-sounding, metallic, but unmistakably human.  The image went black, and everyone inside the control room was silent: some people wondering what the hell just happened, and many in shock of the massacre they just witnessed on-screen.

Major Misato Katsuragi had one other thing in her mind- -

_Red?__  How is it possible... humans don't carry AT-fields!  Could it- -_

Misato's thoughts were interrupted by a small, meek voice from behind her.

"Are the pilots needed, Major Katsuragi?"

Misato almost jumped from her seat.  Turning around, she noticed the unmistakable grayish-blue hair and red eyes that could only belong to- -

"Rei!  Jeez, you startled me for a bit there," Misato said with a small sigh.

"I apologize, Major, but I heard the alarm, and- -"

Misato sighed.  "Rei, you don't have to call me Major... I've told you that before.  But no, your orders right now are to stay in your quarters.  The situation's not very good, and the best thing for you is to stay inside."

"I understand, Major."  And with that last reply, she started off for the living quarters temporarily furnished for the pilots.

Misato took another deep breath, and stared at the young girl leaving the control room.  Misato never looked at Rei the same way anymore... not since that "incident" inside the Room of Guf.  Shinji must have been hurt most of all by this, she thought.  Other than Commander Ikari, Shinji was the only other person that Rei was close with, or as close as you could get to Rei, at least.  Poor Shinji...

-------------------------------------

11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: New Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 4: Angel of Death_

-------------------------------------

Snake checked his Soliton radar device for any other green cones (represents the field of vision of enemy guards) or yellow cones (field of vision of cameras) before stepping out of the truck when the lift stopped. 

_Good_, he thought to himself, _No one else but the two guards in the truck._

And with this, Snake climbed out of his cardboard box, and stepped out of the truck, not making so much as a soft thud when he landed on his feet.  Continuing to check his radar, he carefully tracked the movement of the two guards, moving in tandem with the soldiers so he would not get discovered.  When the guards were gone from the area, Snake made his move, running over to a nearby automatic door.

Snake was surprised.  The door led to a narrow hallway, and at the other end of it was a smoking security camera.  Next to it on the ground were the remains of a NERV security guard, freshly gutted by what appeared to be a very sharp, and very hot, blade.  The wound had been cauterized, almost at the same instant the cut was made.

"Still alive," Snake muttered as he checked the soldier's radial pulse and shallow, almost nonexistent respirations.  There was nothing more that could be done for this poor soldier, who appeared to have given up keeping his intestines in his abdomen.

"Dead..."  Snake stood up and headed for the next door, but not before searching the body to find ammo for his Five-seveN, and a NERV clearance card (Level 2) that he needed to enter the next door.

The next door opened automatically as Snake held the keycard up to the door, only to reveal another security guard holding up a similar key.

_Who the hell is this old - -_

"UURRG - -" 

_CRACK_

Before the guard could finish his thoughts, Snake was upon him.  Using one arm to have the guard's back facing him, pulled the body close to his, and using his free palm to strike the back of his neck, he deftly killed the man.  Still holding onto his neck, Snake dragged the body next to the previous one and entered through the next door.

_Damn, what a slip-up!  Can't believe I didn't check my radar first,_ Snake chided himself as he entered what appeared to be a small storage room or janitor's closet.

_The janitors here are gonna have a field day_, Snake joked to himself.  Snake looked at his watch.  

_2000 hrs - - it's been half an hour since I first arrived at Tokyo-3_.  He crouched down on one corner of the room, and activated his codec - -

"This is Snake.  I'm inside NERV headquarters."

"Excellent, Snake.  This is Commander Tadokoro speaking."  His face appeared on the screen.  "What is your situation, Snake?"

"I haven't come across too much trouble, but there might be another intruder in NERV besides me."

"What do you mean?"  Eliza Akane's asked as she appeared on the codec screen.

"While I was hiding in the truck, I overheard the two guards inside talking about some ninja taking out most of the security cameras in the facility and killing a bunch of guards.  And just now, I found a body - - with its belly cut open."  

_Could it be - - no... No, he's dead..._, Snake thought.

Eliza had a look of concern on her face.  "It must be the series of small explosions we've been tracking here via satellite."

"Do you know anything else about this... ninja?" Snake asked.

"..."

Tadokoro's face abruptly appeared on the screen.  "Snake, now is not the time to worry about this.  You know what your main objectives are, and you have to focus.  Deal with this ninja when the time comes.  Right now, Otacon is going to brief you about one other potential threat- - the Evangelions."

Otacon's face appeared on the screen.  "Ok Snake, there are several problems you will have in facing the Evas, if you ever have the bad luck of facing one alone."

"I've seen heavy odds before, but go ahead and explain," Snake said confidently.

"Well, Snake, an Evangelion isn't exactly like a Hind D, or a Metal Gear.  In fact, a Metal Gear is dwarfed by the size of Evangelions; those things are monstrously tall.  In fact, they are several building stories tall!  Secondly, since Evangelions were adapted from Angel technology, they are unharmed by most conventional weapons, and these babies can even stand up to an N^2 blast!"

"..."

"This is because the Eva is protected by something called an AT-field, or 'Absolute Terror.'  Evas expand this field to protect itself, and it can even be used for offense!  Angels use the same thing as well, and only another AT-field can counter an AT-field."

"And you expect me to stop something like THAT?!?  How am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, the only possible way to stop an Eva from moving is by cutting off the umbilical cable on the back of the Eva, which provides external power to it and is not invincible to conventional weapons.  Cut the cable, and the Eva switches to internal power, which last for about 5 minutes."

"Gee, that sounds just _wonderful."  Otacon winced at the painfully sardonic remark and continued._

"Well actually... this information only applies to Eva Unit-02.  Eva Unit-01 has the ability to create its own power using its S-2 engine."

Snake frowned.  "Hmph.  If I knew I'd be stacked up against something like that, I wouldn't have taken this damned job."

Eliza's face appeared on the screen.  "Snake, don't worry about it.  I doubt that you will have to face one in battle."

"Then why the hell are you telling me this?!?"

Tadokoro appeared on the screen.  "Calm down, Snake.  I doubt that they'd send an Eva after one man.  We just thought that you would like some info about the Eva Series."

He received an evil glare from Snake.  "The last thing I need is someone trying to spook me like that."

Tadokoro cleared his throat, and continued.  "What you should do now is head to one of the backup control rooms in the facility, since the main one will more likely be occupied, and find a computer where you can gain access to their network.  They are the green dots on your soliton map.  Pick any one.  I'll instruct you from there when you arrive at one of them."

"Got it.  But if I find any giant robots hunting me down, you can find yourself a new grunt."  The codec turned off.

-------------------------------------

"Oh, the Third Child.  Go right ahead inside," the overly cheerful security guard said, as Shinji walked up to the door leading to the pilots' sleeping quarters.  "Don't worry about a thing, there's guards out here, and in the hallways leading to your rooms," the guard said with a smile.

Shinji returned the happy gesture with only a small nod as he passed through the automatic door.  The guard was right about one thing- - the hallway was indeed well guarded, as there were at least 5 or 6 men watching over the hallways, with several security cameras monitoring almost every bit of the corridors.  He entered a door marked "IKARI SHINJI," to find a simple cot and mattress, a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink, a NERV-marked garment bag with several changes of clothes, and one other personal item- - his cello.

"What's this doing here?" a puzzled Shinji said quietly to himself.  Nevertheless, he was pleased that they brought his instrument over.  The rain outside made the S-DAT player he liked to carry around unable to work properly and he needed some music to wall off the rest of the world.  He removed the cello from the case, and sat down on his bed to play it.

Selecting a piece from Bach, he began lose himself in the melody, and his thoughts.  He thought about the events of the day... how that man saved him, what just happened in the NERV facility... and about Asuka.

Asuka... she's in this building too, Shinji thought to himself as he stopped playing in a middle of an arpeggio.  Leaning the cello on the side of the bed, he stood up, and headed in the direction of Asuka's room.

-------------------------------------

"What?!?  Now there's _two_ of them to deal with?" the person shouted over the phone.

"Be calm about this situation.  The second one is simply there to make sure things proceed as planned."  The man on the other end of the line pushed aside a strand of hair that was covering his face, and continued.  "The prototype has gone haywire, and he could jeopardize my designs."

"But do you realize what kind of chaos that would cause in NERV?!?  It could- -"

"I will _not be lectured by anyone, especially by you.  If you want your revenge so bad, you shall get it.  But the plan will proceed the way I choose it to be."_

"Understood," the person said with clenched teeth, as the phone line was closed.

-------------------------------------

"Major Katsuragi, umm..." Makoto Hyuga said, standing right behind Misato.  His voice startled her, and she almost jumped out of her seat.

"Oh!  Oh, it's you, Hyuga.  You surprised me for a second," Misato said, letting out a small sigh.

"I-I'm really sorry about that Major..."

"I told you earlier, 'Misato' is fine..."

_Earlier...___

The conversation became short-lived very quickly, as the two became silent, uncomfortably silent.  Misato stared into her coffee cup, and drank from it, though it was already empty.  Hyuga suddenly became interested in his shoes, and his ears were a bit red.

_Why... am I blushing?_  Misato was about to hold a hand up to her cheek, when the distinctive ring of the emergency phone shattered the silence.

Misato picked up the phone.  "Katsuragi.  What?  Another one?!?"

-------------------------------------

"Halt!  Who goes there?!?"  The lone guard outside of the hallway pointed his gun towards the other end of the hall, his body in a ready stance.

"RATATATATATAT!!!  BOOM!!!!!"  He pointed his gun at another direction, and made the same sound effects with his mouth.  He continued in this manner with a satisfying grin on his face, the hero of his imaginary war.

-------------------------------------

A shimmering figure, cloaked in thermoptic camouflage, traversed the hallways of NERV headquarters.  Ignoring the active security cameras she passed by, the cloaked figure's nimble feet allowed it to literally bounce off the walls.  The figure saw its target, and stepped carefully in front of the guard.  When they were face-to-face, the ninja dropped the thermoptics.

The idiotic guard soon tired himself out from his childish games, and was simply standing in front of the doorway now.  He sighed.

"Man, this is boring... I thought I'd get to see some action if I signed up with NERV, maybe even pilot one of those big robots."  He proudly fixed his gun over his shoulder now.  "Well, at least I get this cool gun- - AACK!!!"

He felt a strong gripping force acting on his neck, but the source of it was nowhere to be seen... for a couple of seconds, at least.  The guard's eyes went wide with shock as a female figure formed in front of him out of nowhere, strangling him.

"Wha- -?  Ayanami - -"

The last words that the guard said became unintelligible, as the female ninja, dressed in the same gunmetal-gray armor as the last ninja, took one of her katana blades from her back and stabbed the guard in the neck.  She wiped the blood off her cheek, which seemed to compliment her eyes (of the very same color), activated her thermoptics once again, and entered through the door.

-------------------------------------

Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  Characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.

Updated 3.10.03


	5. Remember

Welcome to chapter 5.  This chapter has been rewritten for the Third Impact Trilogy.

NOTE:  Please excuse any inconsistencies and vagueness between the rewritten chapters and the un-rewritten chapters.  They will be dealt with as each new rewrite is finished.

-------------------------------------

"Got it."  The codec turned off, and before stepping out of the storage room he was hiding in, Snake checked his soliton device.  Snake checked the map for the green dots, representing secondary computer control rooms in the facility, then checked his local radar for any soldiers that might be patrolling in the area.  Satisfied with what he saw, he stepped out of the room and started for the nearest control room.

-------------------------------------

Seeing that Shinji was not in his room, Rei concluded that he might be at Asuka's.  When she opened the door to room 407, it was there where she found him, holding a quiet vigil over Asuka's unconscious form.

Shinji never looked up at Rei once.  He might have reacted differently if the Rei behind him was the Rei that he knew... but she was lost to him for good.  "What is it, Ayanami?" he said coldly, rivaling even Rei's demeanor.

"We are to return to our own sleeping quarters now, Pilot Ikari," Rei replied in an equally distant voice.

Shinji did not acknowledge Rei's answer, and both pilots stood in the room in silence for a long time.

_Pilot Ikari was not always like this_, Rei thought to herself.  She "remembered" a different kind of Shinji, if the word "remember" is the right one to use here...  

_But I've only met him recently, and he's never talked to me much..._

Sometimes at night, she would get hazy, indistinct images in her dreams; dreams of being submerged in a strange liquid, of sitting in a cockpit filled with the same substance, and of her fellow pilots, especially Shinji.  Sometimes, during these nights, Rei would wake up in a cold sweat, as she tried to place some kind of meaning to what she just saw, but couldn't, as if these images were submerged in liquid, and they would not resurface so they could become clearer.

However, at that moment, Rei felt something new, yet oddly familiar... it felt very heavy in her chest.  She placed her hand on her chest as she tried to pair this emotion with a word.

_Is this... sadness?  Well, yes, but it's something else.  I think it's called "sympathy..."_

-------------------------------------

11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 5: Remember_

-------------------------------------

Four guards were stationed inside the hallway; one next to each of the three doors in the hall, and one extra guard.

"Man, that Kawamoto guy is an idiot," one guard mused.  "He's always screwing around, never doing his work."

"I know what you mean, man," another guard added.  "One day, I could have sworn that he was playing 'soldier-boy' like a little kid, waving his gun around and pretending to shoot shit."

"Somebody needs to report him; he'll be out of our skin, and made to do cleanup duty or something in the cafeteria."

"Like that would do any good!  We lost a good deal of guards just a couple of hours ago!  This place needs whatever soldiers they can find."

"That retard will probably be the first to go if we ever get attacked."

As that last guard was in the middle of starting another sentence, they could hear the door leading out of the hallway open and close, signifying their cue to stop talking about Kawamoto.

"Shut up, here he comes," one of the guards said quietly.  "Hey Kawamoto, what do you need now?" he said, turning his head in the direction of the door.

At the exact moment after finishing his question, blood gushed from his chest and back, as if a high-speed projectile just entered and exited his body.

"Holy shit!"  Two of the guards came to the fallen guard's side, while the third remaining guard covered them with his P90 sub-machine gun.

"What the hell?  There's no one there!"  the guard with the readied gun exclaimed.  He turned around quickly as if to anticipate a rear attack, but all he saw was a metal object stuck to the wall.  He walked up to it, and upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a bloody throwing _Kunai_.

_Shit..._

"Hey- -" Another deftly thrown _kunai found its target; the guard made an odd gurgling noise from his throat and fell to the floor in a heap._

-------------------------------------

Shinji turned his head around towards the direction of the room's door.

"What was that?"

Rei did not need Shinji's forewarning to notice that something was wrong.  Terribly wrong.  Rei narrowed her eyes at the door, as she felt a strong, dread presence that she could not explain.

-------------------------------------

"I-Iwata?"  While one guard kept attending to the first fallen guard, the other remaining guard dashed over to the other casualty.  Soon, he was lying beside him, with a throwing blade stuck on his back.

The last guard was terrified.  He stood up and pointed his gun everywhere frantically.  Then, he saw it.  It was difficult to make out, but he could perceive a shimmering, almost-invisible female form.  It was something out of a movie, like that old pre-Second Impact anime the guard saw a few years ago.  Half out of fear, and half out of vengeance for his friends, he fired a long burst at the figure.

The female ninja's sword flew from the scabbard on her back, and she successfully changed the course of each bullet, letting her remain unscathed.  The last two bullets she deflected made its way through the left arm and right leg of the guard, consecutively.

The guard let out a high-pitched shriek of pain, as he dropped his gun, and went down on his left knee.  The ninja, now uncloaked, made her way towards the guard.

The guard was wide-eyed.  The ninja bore an uncanny resemblance to - -

"The First Child?"

She stopped in front of him, and crouched down, her head very close to his ear.  She whispered to him - -

"You scream like a girl."

- - before stabbing him with her sword.

No word could express the anguish the guard felt as the unexpectedly hot metal slid into his thoracic cavity.  He could feel the sword, as if it was vibrating at high speeds, cut through major organs.  The ninja stood up while still holding onto the blade, resulting in the sword slicing upwards through the guard's body, from his chest to his head, effectively splitting the guard nearly in two.  With a final quick, downward stroke to cleanse the sword of gore, the assassin sheathed her sword on her back scabbard, and walked towards the door on the end of the hallway.

-------------------------------------

"There appears to be another attack by that ninja!"  Shigeru Aoba reported.  "There's no response from the guards that were stationed outside Asuka's room!"

Misato stood there wide-eyed at the news.  "No..."

"Sending two squadrons to the area now - - they should arrive in 1.3 minutes."

Aoba was suddenly hoisted up from his seat by his uniform collar.  He was now only inches away from Misato's angry face.

"They will be _dead_ by then!"  Misato said through clenched teeth.  "Find a way to get someone there quicker!"

-------------------------------------

The klaxons that went off in the area caught Snake by surprise.

_Damn, have I been spotted?  No, my radar is still operational.  It must be that other intruder..._

Snake heard a large number of footsteps headed his way.  Checking his soliton again, he could see that it was a group of at least ten guards running towards him.

_Damn!_  Snake knew that those were terrible odds.  He searched his area desperately for some kind of hiding spot, yet all he could find was a pair of cardboard boxes lying on a corner.

_Boxes..._

-------------------------------------

"Hurry!  We have to get to the Children!"  The squadron of soldiers quickened their pace to a full sprint, and ran to the area being attacked, never noticing a cardboard box mysteriously moving away from them...

-------------------------------------

The door literally flew from its hinges, and crashed into the wall across from it.

"Ikari, watch out!"  Placing her body in front of Shinji's, she pushed him onto the bed where the unconscious Asuka still lay.  The ninja walked in just as she was taking an orange light into herself.

"An AT-field..." Rei said silently, as the ninja faced in their direction.

Shinji, on the other hand, was not wondering about the AT-field.

"She...she looks like you, Ayanami..."

Rei could only gasp with shock at this realization, as the ninja smiled, and took a step towards the Children.  With the same surprised expression on her face, Rei stood up, and took one step forward, towards her lethal doppelganger.

"Ayanami!!" Shinji exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes.  "Ayanami!  Rei! What are you doing?!?  Rei!!!!!!"

-------------------------------------

_"Ayanami," Shinji cried out as he opened the hatch to the entry plug.  "Ayanami!  Are you all right?!?  Ayanami!"_

_Rei shook her head into consciousness as best as she could, and looked up at Shinji's worried face._

_"I...Ikari," she managed to mutter softly._

_Shinji's voice sounded like he was on the verge of tears.  "Ayanami, don't say that you have nothing else... and don't say 'good bye' every time we launch.  It's too sad!"  Shinji could not hold it in anymore, and he broke down crying in front of a confused Rei._

_"I... I'm sorry," replied Rei.  "I don't know what to do at times like this..."_

_Shinji looked up, with tears streaming down his cheeks… and a smile on his face._

_"Why don't you try smiling?"_

-------------------------------------

Rei gasped back into reality, just in time to see the ninja jumping towards her, with sword fully drawn...

-------------------------------------

Maya reported her findings to the Captain.  "There are not one, but _two_ AT-fields in the area where the Children are!"

"Two of them?  Are there two attackers there?"

"One AT-field seems to be trying to neutralize the other!"

-------------------------------------

The ninja was seemingly stopped in her tracks in mid-air, a wide-eyed look of surprise on her face.  Rei, with her arms extended in front of her, seemed to push at the ninja without ever touching her; the would-be attacker slammed into one of the room's walls, leaving a large indentation on it.

Rei looked exhausted, but determined.

"Pilot Ikari," she said between gasps of breath.  "Are you unhurt?"

Shinji did not respond, as an orange light surrounded Rei, who now inched closer to the dazed ninja.  The ninja pounced forward in desperation, but the orange light around Rei intensified in brightness as she held her arms out again, and the ninja was hurled towards another wall, this time crashing right through it.

"Ikari, please stay here and protect Pilot Soryu," Rei ordered, "as I will be here to protect you."

-------------------------------------

Snake saw a nearby yellow cone on his radar.  

_A surveillance camera?_He thought.  _There's no way to avoid it… I'll have to use chaff._

From a pocket, he procured a grenade with a yellow stripe, pulled the pin out and tossed it out on the hallway.  In seconds, the hallway was covered in tiny pieces of metal that disrupt electrical signals.  Snake's Soliton radar went into its "jammed" mode.

_Good.  It's working._  As he walked out onto the hallway and into the next room, he did not see the camera following his every step…

-------------------------------------

"Lieutenant, one of our security cameras reports an intruder near our vicinity."

"Is it a ninja?"

"No sir."

He looked at the playback on the monitor.  "Chaff?  Haha, he should know better - - chaff is useless against our state-of-the-art monitor system."  He chuckled to himself.  "He might be a distraction so the ninja can get his job done around here... take him out.  Don't bother to report it to Major Katsuragi, they've got enough problems of their own with that damn ninja attacking the Children."

"Are you sure?  Who are we - -"

"Tell Shirou to get his gear and intercept this bothersome mosquito."

"Wh - - I see... good plan sir."

-------------------------------------

The ninja was not winning this fight.  Every time she would hit Rei with her extended AT-field, Rei would hit back just as hard.  In this manner, they took the fight all across the hallway, leaving cracks and dents in the walls, floor, and ceiling, and leaving bruises on both fighters' bodies.  

She managed to get a lucky hit, though.  When Rei managed to deal the ninja a hard blow, slamming her into the ground, Shinji stepped out of the room to get a better view of what's happening.  Rei turned around, as she dropped her AT-field for just a second.

"Ikari!"

This was the ninja's opportunity.  Using the palm of her hand, she struck Rei hard in the chest, sending her sliding down the floor.

"Ayanami!"  Shinji exclaimed, as he rushed towards Rei's side.  Taking advantage of the distraction, the ninja made a hasty retreat.  Letting down her AT-field, and activating her thermoptic camouflage, she ran down the end of the hallway, through the door, and was soon nowhere to be seen.

Shinji cradled Rei's head in his arms, as he pleaded for her to return to consciousness.

"Ayanami!  Ayanami!  Rei!!  Please, wake up!!"  he cried, hot tears flooding his eyes and running down his cheeks.

Rei slowly blinked her eyes, as she painfully lifted a hand to gently touch Shinji's cheek.

"Shi… Shinji…" she whispered softly, before sinking back into unconsciousness.

-------------------------------------

As Snake entered the next area, the jamming cleared up, and he was able to read his soliton radar again.  What he saw on it caught him off guard.

On the other side of the door at the other end of the area, there was a green cone - - an unusually large green cone.

_Shit_, Snake thought, as he removed his Five-seveN from his hip holster, and aimed it at the door.  _With a field of vision that big, that must mean that he's a - -_

The door opened abruptly in the middle of his thoughts, to reveal an unusual guard.  He was not dressed in the brown uniform that most of the other guards wore, but instead, his garb consisted of a black, bulky, BDU (battle dress uniform).  Its bulkiness gave a hint that he might have been wearing some seriously heavy armor.  To complete the look was a completely black riot helmet with tinted visor, and what Snake recognized as a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) in each hand.

Snake did not give it a second thought.  Almost instinctively, he double-tapped the trigger on his pistol, sending two armor-piercing rounds towards his target, aiming for the chest and head.  The bullets simply bounced off the chest and head.

"…big bastard," he muttered out loud, finishing his thoughts.

The guard smiled under his helmet, and pointed both barrels of his guns directly at Snake.  He spoke in Japanese.

"My turn," he said, as he sent a rain of bullets towards Snake's direction.

-------------------------------------

Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.

Updated 3.12.2003


	6. The Transfer System

This is Phase 65 of MGL:A. Well, I have a lot of things to explain about the last Phase, and several things to finish. Rei III seems to recall some of Rei II's memories, which triggered something helluva fierce in her. Snake seems to have run into a problem, particulary a 7'5'', 375 lb. behemoth packing two very big guns and a bunch of armor. Now, back to the story...  
  
NOTE: I made another boo-boo! Misato's rank is Major, not Captain. I corrected that in this chapter, and will correct it in the other chapters soon.  
  
  
  
"REI!!!" Shinji left Asuka's bedside to attend to Rei, who had just collapsed after her fight with the female ninja. "Rei, are you alright? Rei!" (She remembered! I thought she forgot!) Rei moaned softly as she was trying to regain consciousness. Shinji stared at the direction the attacker disappeared, still holding Rei in his arms.  
  
(Who was she? She looked just like Rei... An AT-field? Rei... does that mean - -?)  
  
  
  
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse  
  
11-41 Studios  
  
Enter Phase 6: The Transfer System  
  
  
  
"- - big bastard."  
  
The door opened to reveal a very big man, covered in very thick armor from head to toe, and carrying a very big gun in each hand.  
  
Before he could take one step into the hallway, Snake sent several silenced 5.7mm armor-piercing rounds towards the goliath's direction. Each one of the bullets bounced off his head and chest armor.  
  
He smiled behind the dark helmet. "My turn," he said in Japanese.  
  
"Son-of-a - -"  
  
He pulled both triggers. Snake only had a split second to dodge to the right to hide behind a corner. In mid-air, Snake felt a sharp pain on the side of his left shoulder. Crouched down behind the corner, Snake looked at his shoulder.  
  
"Just grazed it," he remarked as he saw a tear in the sneaking suit, sighing with relief as he observed that his shoulder was still intact. "Can't hit him with my pistol, I better ask for some advice." He dialed 141.96 on his Codec.  
  
"What is it, Snake?" Asked Eliza Akane, Snake's military analyst on his mission.  
  
"I have a little problem here. I ran into this really huge guard. I shot at him a couple of times with my pistol, but it just bounced off him. I thought you said these bullets were armor-piercing!"  
  
"Calm down, Snake. There is no body armor that the FN bullets can't tear through, unless this guy is wearing... well, it is possible that your friend is wearing a special heavy-duty titanium composite similar to Evangelion armor plating, but even one inch of this plating is quite heavy for humans to handle!"  
  
Snake hid his head behind the wall after sticking it out of the corner for a second, only to have it fired at. "He's a big boy; I think maybe he can HANDLE it! It looks like he's carrying two SAWs (Squad Automatic Weapons) in each hand."  
  
"SAWs... Snake, he's carrying Fabrique Nationale M249 Paratrooper Rifles. It is a compact version of the FN M249 series typically seen on U.S. Army Humvees, and is used for squad teams. Each carries a 100 bullet belt-fed - -"  
  
"I don't give a crap about what the gun is! I just need to know how to stop him! Aren't you my military analyst?!?"  
  
"Ok, I apologize... Try using a stun grenade. While he's incapacitated, use the knife in the holster on your right leg, and turn on - -"  
  
The Codec transmission was abruptly ended. Snake could not wait any longer. He stood up, and readied his knife and a green-striped grenade he pulled from one of his pouches.  
  
"All right piggy, come get some," Snake said loudly in Japanese. A rain of bullets answered him, striking the wall where he was hiding.  
  
  
  
The squadrons sent down by Maya quickly swarmed the room where the Children are, and blocked off all entrances to the hallway. Misato fought her way to the room, and quickly grabbed Shinji in a hug.  
  
"SHINJI!!!!! You're OK!!!!!"  
  
"uurrk... Misato..."  
  
Misato quickly released the young boy from her clutches, and looked at the other Children. Asuka was still unconscious on her bed, but - -  
  
"Rei!! Rei, is she all right? What happened, Shinji?!?"  
  
"Sh-she remembered, then she fought the other, a-and the AT-fields - -" Shinji was unable to finish a coherent sentence; it seemed like he was still stunned from what happened.  
  
The Major stood there for a second, and then snapped out of it. "Take the Children to a more secure location near the main control room. I want extra security around that area. Well, come on!!" The soldiers in the room acted quickly.  
  
  
  
Gendo sat in his office. Fuyutsuki was reporting to him what happened to the pilots.  
  
"It appears that there are a few bugs in Ms. Akane's Transfer System."  
  
"Yes sir, a few memories seemed to have slipped out of her soul."  
  
"I thought it was supposed to rid her of memories."  
  
"Dr. Akagi also worked on the project. Should we ask her about it?"  
  
"That won't be necessary at this point. I am close to enacting my plan anyways, and there will be no need for a revision of the Transfer System program. Rei's AT-field activation will not be a problem at this point either. We are too far along the plan to worry about that now. Just keep this intruder at bay."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
  
  
A spy inside NERV headquarters reports to his superior.  
  
"He does not expect anything."  
  
"At least we still have that. The First Child's AT-field was unexpected, but can be dealt with by our Test Type. What news of the Prototype?"  
  
"He still has not surfaced. It appears that the last battle has drained him quite a bit."  
  
"When he shows up, he will be dealt with by our Test Type as well, if not Snake. Does Snake know anything yet?"  
  
"No. He has not received too many problems in infiltrating Central Dogma."  
  
"Two highly skilled operatives - - our chances look good. Report in if there is anymore news."  
  
"Yes, Big Boss. This is Judas, signing off."  
  
The figure sat back, and smiled to himself. (Big Boss... I've always liked the sound of that name.)  
  
  
  
Misato and her colleagues watched the footage of the recent battle between Rei and the intruder. They were at a loss for words when they saw Rei using her AT-field to defend herself. They were further stupefied at the site of two Reis duking it out with their AT-fields.  
  
"So... is Rei an angel, then?" Maya asked, breaking the long silence that followed the end of the footage.  
  
  
  
Snake pulled the pin and waited for 3 seconds before tossing the grenade behind the corner. A bright flash of light and a loud bang followed, and soon after, the screaming and cursing of a man echoed through the hallway. Snake ran out of the corner with his large military knife readied.  
  
"Canned meat! Lets open it up and see if it's still fresh!"  
  
Snake saw that the behemoth's back was facing him. He found an unarmored spot just between the shoulders. (Perfect...)  
  
The screams increased in volume.  
  
The control room door opened to reveal Shirou with his helmet removed and a blank expression on his face.  
  
"Excellent! Did you take care of him?" The Lieutenant inside asked him in Japanese.  
  
Shirou replied by spitting out blood and collapsing face first onto the ground, revealing a pissed off Solid Snake clutching an M249 Para. The five people in the room stood in shock.  
  
"Hai."  
  
Bodies and shell casings riddled the floor of the control room.  
  
  
  
END OF PHASE 6  
  
Not a very long chapter, but still a good one. This chapter is exactly why Snake is _the_ Ass-Kicker. Has our dear Akane -san worked for NERV before? Who is the traitor inside NERV? Who is the mysterious man using the name Big Boss (can't be the real Big Boss, he's in a freezer, right?)? Find out in the next exciting episode of Dragonba - - I mean, MGL:A!  
  
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners. 


	7. The Red Infernal Machine

This is Phase 7 of MGL:A. A few things before we start this - - this story is now available in the Metal Gear Section in addition to the Evangelion Section of FanFiction.Net, since this story is both an EVA and MGS fic. I know no ones probably interested, and I'm a dumbass to keep this up, but the Omake contest is still here for anyone who cares. Check my profile or the reviews section for details. I've decided to slow down my pacing of releasing and writing chapters a little bit, in order to balance this and my work. The fiction is about 1/4 to 1/2 done, since I have just a small idea on how many chapters it will take to finish this. As of this point, I have another fiction (in a conceptual stage - - I have only a few ideas) in the works, so look for that in a few months, probably after this fic is done. There is a good chance it will be a Spriggan (a good anime action flick) fiction, since there hasn't been anyone who's tried that.  
  
Where we last left off, Rei is physically drained from her battle with the female Ninja, Shinji is pretty stunned about it, more mysterious characters talk, and Snake just kicked many asses. Without further ado, here is Phase 7...  
  
  
  
  
  
Snake pulled the enormously large body into a corner of the control room, where five other bodies lay bullet-riddled. Salvaging whatever he could from the room and the bodies, he found several clips of ammunition for his Five-seveN, a couple of Beretta 96Gs and 9mm ammo for it, various stun and explosive grenades, an FN P90 with several 50-round clips, and even something that looked like a grenade launcher. He decided only to pocket some of the pistol ammo and the grenades, but contemplated taking the grenade launcher.  
  
He looked at his radar to check the area for soldier who might have been attracted to the heavy gunfire, but he did not see anyone coming. He examined the bullet-riddled control room. The communication systems have been shot up terribly, but the console still seemed intact, to Snake's surprise. Snake dialed 140.85 on his Codec, sat down on a chair next to a console, and pressed the call button.  
  
  
  
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse  
  
11-41 Studios  
  
Enter Phase 7: The Red Infernal Machine  
  
  
  
Shinji Ikari sat down on a chair in the main control room. It was night, yet he was unable to sleep. There was the fear of being attacked that kept him up, as well as thoughts of what just happened. He briefly listened to Maya and Makoto having a conversation. Maya was talking about the attacker.  
  
"I thought the Angels were all killed. Why does this attacker have an AT- field? Is she just like the 17th?"  
  
"I don't know. But if you look at the video footage, doesn't it seem like this ninja looks like Rei?"  
  
"I - - Yeah, it's strange that she would look like Rei. And speaking of Rei, she has an AT-field too!"  
  
"Yeah, and it seems like she doesn't remember anything now. Commander Ikari and a bunch of doctors took her stretcher somewhere, but it didn't look like it was leading to the infirmary. Right now, she doesn't remember any - -"  
  
"Hyuga?" Misato interrupted Makoto. "Please take care of things here. I need to go somewhere for a second."  
  
"Sure thing, Major," the NERV tactician replied. "By the way, have you seen Shigeru? He's been gone for a while."  
  
Misato answered him. "He told me he would go take a quick nap in one of the rest areas. That seems like a good idea, since we might be here for a long time. You guys should take one too, but don't leave the control room alone."  
  
"I'll be sure to do that later."  
  
Misato turned around to talk to Shinji, but she saw him slouching down in his chair with his S-DAT on. Misato decided that it might be better not to disturb him.  
  
(Poor Shinji...)  
  
Misato went down the elevator to the lower levels of Central Dogma. After Kaji died, Misato has been visiting the computer archive room, researching the real truths behind NERV, and the Evas. She's made some progress, but not much. (I'm running out of time,) she thought to herself. (I hope I'm not too late.) She took off the safety on her .45 as she rode the elevator down to the cold archives.  
  
  
  
"This is Snake. I've reached a control room."  
  
Anaylst Eliza Akane spoke on the other end of the line. "That's good Snake, but... Well, I suppose you're not the subtle type."  
  
"I got to the control room in one piece, and that's what matters," Snake said as he bandaged the side of his arm where a bullet grazed him with a first-aid kit. He realized that he had just barked at his analyst rather rudely, and it showed on Eliza's face. "I - - I'll be more careful next time. Now, what am I supposed to do here?"  
  
Commander Tsuruko Tadokoro flashed onto the screen. "We'll be hacking into the NERV network to find information. I'll hand it over to Otacon, since he knows more about this part of the mission." Tadokoro's face disappeared from the screen, and Otacon's appeared.  
  
"Ok, Snake, if you look in one of your pouches, you'll see a flat, rectangular, metal object. It sort of looks like a wireless network card for pre-Second Impact laptops."  
  
Snake had no idea what Otacon was saying, but he found the card nonetheless. "Alright, what do I do with this?"  
  
"Snake, make sure the computer is on and functioning properly, then look for a slot that will fit the card you have in your hand. This slot should be next to the keyboard." Snake found the slot, and inserted the card in it.  
  
"Ok, I put the card in. What do I do?" Snake asked.  
  
Otacon replied. "Just let me do my magic. Sit back and have a ration or something. You probably haven't eaten for a while."  
  
(He's right,) Snake thought. He unpacked the food from the circular ration canister, and proceeded to eat an MRE as he saw the computer screen being filled with commands typed in by Otacon.  
  
  
  
Maya Ibuki finished eating her meal in the main control room, and felt herself succumbing to sleep. In one corner of the room, he could see Shinji Ikari had fallen asleep.  
  
"Man, I'm getting really tired. What time is it, Makoto?"  
  
Makoto glanced at his watch. "9:50. Where is Shigeru? He's been sleeping for a while."  
  
Maya got up from her seat. "I'll go wake him up, so I can take a nap." She walked to the small elevator and took it downstairs to the rest areas.  
  
  
  
Misato Katsuragi has been sitting in the small computer cage atop the archives of NERV. The fog in front of her mouth formed by her breathing was illuminated by the red lights emitted by the memory drives below and around her. The cold environment was necessary to keep the computers from overheating, so Misato was wearing a thick coat as she tirelessly searched the depths of the archives for answers.  
  
(We've all been duped. We weren't supposed to stop the Impact... The Transfer System... Rei... That's why she won't remember anything. Is that where Gendo took her after the battle?)  
  
Misato then decided that she had been in there for too long. So as not to arouse any suspicion, she prepared to leave the computer cage. A clanging sound startled her, and she placed her hand up to her ear as if she felt something.  
  
"Kaji?" Misato blurted out spontaneously. Only a small rush of air answered her, and she left the archives.  
  
  
  
Fuyutsuki reported to Commander Ikari. "She did it again, Ikari."  
  
Gendo replied. "Let her alone. She may have found out the truth about NERV, but it will be too late. Besides, what can she do?" He said coldly.  
  
Kouzou kept silent for a while before finally saying something. "I will be heading off to my quarters now. Good night, Commander."  
  
When he was alone in his office, Gendo took off the glove on his hand, to reveal what looked like an embryo inside it. He smiled, and put the glove back on. (Tomorrow, Yui...)  
  
  
  
Snake didn't like it. Sitting around waiting for some stupid computer to get going was not his idea of action. If he had his way, he'd face that Shirou guy again. He was getting restless. Finally, he got a Codec call.  
  
"Snake, are you there?" Otacon asked him.  
  
"Yeah. What the hell is taking so long?" Snake replied angrily. "I thought you were a 'master hacker.'"  
  
"Yeah... well, I'm kinda having a bit of trouble with the actual breaking in. I think the gunfire might have done something to the computer you're in. You'll have to take the network card out, and go to another control room. On your Soliton, it appears there's another one nearby the Evangelion cages. Get over there, Snake."  
  
Snake complied happily with the request. It was time to move out. "I thought you'd never ask. I'm removing the card. Snake, out." The Codec turned off.  
  
Snake decided to take the grenade launcher (just in case) and stepped out of the room, perhaps a bit more cautious than he was minutes ago, and headed for the Eva cage.  
  
Makoto Hyuga was asleep in his chair. The tiredness had overcome him, and he drifted away. He did not hear the light beeping coming from his monitor indicating a hacker attack on the NERV network. A few moments later, he awoke with a start. "He, I must have fallen asleep," he chuckled at himself. Makoto looked at his screen, which was on screensaver mode at the moment. He walked over to the coffee maker.  
  
  
  
Misato removed her gun from her holster and broke into a run as soon as she heard the screams. The cries could only belong to - -  
  
"Maya!" She dashed to the rest area room where the scream originated.  
  
What Misato saw next left her horrified. Shigeru Aoba's body lay completely lacerated and literally chopped to pieces. The only things that made the body identifiable was a head, cleaved in half, and a bloody ID card. From then on, nobody was safe from the wrath of the ninja.  
  
  
  
Snake thought it strange that all the green cones on his radar were moving away to another part of the facility. It was either a trap, or that damn ninja attacked again. He had to be more careful - - he was nearing the Eva cage.  
  
  
  
A pair of red eyes stood next to Eva Unit-02 in the cage. A moment later, the rest of the body appeared, revealing a female figure and bluish-gray hair. Her eyes flashed white, and the Evangelion activated.  
  
  
  
Makoto Hyuga is definitely wide-awake now. First, the murder of Shirgeru, and now - -  
  
"Major! Eva Unit-02 has activated on its own! There's no pilot inside!" he reported on his tactical radio. He keyed in the command on the keyboard to lock all exits and entrances to the Eva cage.  
  
  
  
Snake arrived at the Eva cage. A thunderous, ungodly howl greeted him, and on the other side of the cage, he saw a monstrous red giant awakening. Its crimson eyes were set on the only person in the area.  
  
"Damn..." The beeping of the Codec reverberated in his ears, so Snake hid behind a wall and answered it.  
  
"Shit! What the hell am I supposed to do now?!?" Snake asked frantically to whoever was on the other end of the line.  
  
Eliza Akane answered him. "Damn, this does not look good. In situations like this, they'll lock the Eva cages to prevent the Evangelion from doing any further damage to the facility, and they may even fill the cage with Bakelite."  
  
"I don't even know what Bakelite is, but it already sounds bad! How do I stop this?!? Definitely not with my pistol, and not with this grenade launcher."  
  
"None of your weapons can stop an Eva, but..." Eliza thought for a second. "...An Eva's internal battery time is only five minutes, so if you can hold if off for that long, you'll be ok, I think. You said you have a grenade launcher? Well, the ones that NERV stocks can fire the flashbangs and chaff that you have right now. Just load them in, and fire at the head. The flashbangs should disrupt Eva visual sensors for a few seconds, and the chaff _might_ interfere with its computer system, but it's a long shot. Keep as far away from the Eva as possible. All it has right now is a progressive knife, and you don't want that or the Eva touching you. With the limited space that the Eva can move around in, you should have a small chance of getting away from this unharmed. That's all the advice I can give. Good luck, Snake." She signed off.  
  
"A small chance..." Snake counted his grenades. There were 6 stuns, 4 chaffs, and 2 frags. He unslung the grenade launcher from his back, and loaded a stun grenade into it. Snake took a deep breath, ran out of his hiding spot, and took aim at the Evangelion's head...  
  
  
  
END OF PHASE 7  
  
Here we go - - the Eva's first appearance in this fiction. How will Snake deal with this situation, where so many Angels have failed? Will there be any sanity left for the rest of the NERV staff? Find out in the next phase of MGL:A!  
  
Note to the anonymous reviewer - - I pick Asuka/Rei! Ok, ok, in reality I am neutral to this debate. I enjoy both a/s and r/s fics equally. I don't like to get caught in between the warring fanboys and their continuing dispute on which couple is better.  
  
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All your characters used in this story are belong to their respective owners. 


	8. A Mess of Things

This is Phase 8 of MGL:A. Where we last left off, Shigeru Aoba was brutally murdered by the Rei-Ninja. He was found in tiny little pieces by Misato and Maya. If that wasn't enough, the Ninja seems to have taken control of EVA Unit-02, just as Snake walked into the cage. And if _that_ wasn't enough, Makoto just sealed all entrances and exits to the cage, leaving Snake to have some quality time with the Eva, armed with only a standard grenade launcher. And if THAT wasn't enough... no wait, that's where I left off. Ok, here is the continuation to "The Red Infernal Machine." As always, reviews are appreciated, so please review.  
  
  
  
Shinji awoke from his short-lived slumber, only to see an animated EVA Unit- 02. At first he thinks it's Asuka, and that she's waken up, but common sense told him otherwise. That, and the way the Eva moved... it just doesn't seem like her. On another screen, he saw a man, dressed in gray, hiding behind a pillar, loading a big gun. The first thought that came to Shinji's mind at this site was, (Is this guy nuts??)  
  
  
  
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse  
  
11-41 Studios  
  
Enter Phase 8: A Mess of Things  
  
  
  
"I didn't sign up for this..." Snake said to himself as he aimed for the Evangelion's head. He glanced at his Soliton and saw a 5 minute timer running its way down on the top right of the screen. Compensating for the grenade launcher's trajectory, he aimed several degrees higher than the target's position, and launched the flashbang grenade. He knew what was coming next, so he ran to another pillar and hid behind it.  
  
  
  
(4:20)  
  
  
  
Misato was already in the control room when this happened. She saw the man run behind a metal pillar.  
  
"What the hell is he trying to - -" The Major was interrupted by a bright light. Apparently, the grenade had struck the Eva's head directly, and the stun grenade released its trademark flash and loud sound upon impact. When the light cleared away, and the people in the room tried to remove the spots from their vision, the Eva appeared to be clutching its eyes.  
  
  
  
On the other side of the cage, Rei-Ninja was furiously rubbing her eyes. She must remember to activate her AT-field when that happens again, she thought to herself. She willed the Evangelion to turn around and pick up something...  
  
  
  
(3:30)  
  
  
  
Snake took a peek at the Evangelion from behind the steel pillar after loading a flash grenade into his M79. "It's walking away? It can't be that easy." He spoke too soon. The Evangelion turned around after picking up a pistol from an emergency ammo case in the cage. It took aim at the very pillar Snake was hiding in.  
  
  
  
(3:19)  
  
  
  
"Eva-02 has just taken a pistol from the emergency case!" Makoto exclaimed. "It's taking aim at the unidentified person!"  
  
"Any info on who's controlling the Eva?" Misato asked.  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
  
  
(2:59)  
  
  
  
Snake took off as soon as he saw the gun in its hand, and luckily, he did it just in time before several rounds struck the metal pillar, shredding it to shrapnel. Snake found another pillar before firing another flashbang at the monstrosity. This time, the grenade stopped a few feet in front of the Evangelion's shoulder before exploding. The explosion appeared to affect the beast less than it used to, but it was enough for Snake to run to another pillar before the Eva blasted blindly (for a few seconds) at the pillar where snake was. As he ran, a trail of large bullet holes followed him. Snake nearing the Eva, when something caught his eye.  
  
(Is that a woman?)  
  
  
  
(2:40)  
  
  
  
"Shinji, get inside Unit-01, and stop that thing!" Misato ordered the young Ikari. Shinj was silent, and looked down at his feet.  
  
"Asuka, help me," he could only whisper.  
  
"Quit being a baby!! You're gonna hide behind the skirt of a girl at a moment like this?!? Stop running away right now!" Misato was furiously shaking Shinji right now. "It's you who has to help yourself! Now act like a man, and stop running away!"  
  
Shinji stood there wide-eyed. He had seen her mad before, but never _furious_ like this! "I... I can't - -"  
  
Misato's right hand interrupted Shinji as it met his left cheek. "We have no time for this! Get in the Eva now! The security will escort you to an open entrance leading to your entry plug."  
  
  
  
(2:18)  
  
  
  
Apparently, the stun grenades have lost their effectiveness. Snake thought he should try the frag grenades instead. Suddenly, a large blade narrowly missed his arm by a hair, instead cutting into the walkway and shearing it in half. He lost his balance and fell. He caught a hanging chain in mid- air, and used it to slow his momentum. He let go of the chain, and landed on a tarp, getting in a roll position as he landed. He hid behind whatever was under the tarp, and contemplated his next move.  
  
  
  
(2:00)  
  
  
  
Shinji hated this every time, reluctantly settling in to his seat. He could never get used to the LCL rising in the plug, seemingly threatening to drown him. A plethora of lights and patterns flashed across his HUD, a sign that the Eva is activating. The HUD then gave him a clear picture of what is happening outside. He saw the man, now hiding behind some boxes, and the Eva-02, his target.  
  
  
  
(1:26)  
  
  
  
She saw Unit-01. She began to place all her focus in the upcoming battle. She did not see the gray-clad, masked ninja running towards her, nodachi at the ready.  
  
  
  
(1:10)  
  
  
  
  
  
Snake saw all of this. He quickly found a metal pillar undamaged by the Evas, and hid behind it. He reached for a grenade, and took a brief second to look at it. It had a black stripe. The warning on it read (N^2, COMPACT BLAST. DO NOT THROW BY HAND.). Snake knew what this was immediately, and was almost sickened by the realization that he had such power in his hands. But he knew that the time called for it. He could see two Evangelions tearing away at each other with their progressive knives. He also saw - -  
  
(Two NINJAS?) Snake could see them fighting with swords. Snake knew that the Evangelions would be unharmed by the explosion that the N^2 grenade would wreak, but the ninjas on the other hand...  
  
  
  
"N^2 BLAST!!! TAKE COVER, PEOPLE!!!!!" Misato cried as she saw the warning and proceeded to hit the deck, along with everyone else.  
  
  
  
Snake ran as far as he could from where he was, found something sturdy to hide behind, and waited for the coming hell that would likely blow most of the cage to pieces.  
  
  
  
The masked ninja saw what was coming. He kicked Rei-ninja brutally, and ran like hell out of the cage. Rei-ninja would not have any time to avoid the incoming grenade.  
  
  
  
Shinji saw this too. Pushing the red Evangelion away, he activated his AT- field.  
  
  
  
  
  
Though the N^2 was only a smaller, grenade version, the explosion rocked most of the NERV facility. People in the Control Room feared for their lives as they hung on to whatever they could find. The cage was drenched in red flame. Shinji was safe inside Eva-01, but was afraid that the others might get hurt. Using his AT-field, he tried to brace up a wall that led to the Control Room, as well as to protect a man clinging onto a large crate for dear life.  
  
Snake was nearly in the middle of the explosion, and he thought he was going to die as he saw a very large piece of metal hurtling towards him, only to be stopped by an unseen force. The flying rubble stopped in front of him! He saw a hole in a wall made by a piece of debris, and crawled into there, hoping to escape from the cage.  
  
  
  
Misato was the first to rise up from the Control Room. She surveyed the damage. The huge screens in the front of the room were destroyed, and so was a bit of the room, but everything else seemed intact. She called out to Makoto, who was regaining consciousness.  
  
"Status report..."  
  
Someone else answered her, as Hyugga was just getting up. "Eva Unit-02 is disabled, and has taken 15% damage from the blast and Eva-01. Unit-01 is ok, with 8% damage."  
  
"How much of the building is damaged?" a voice behind Misato asked. It was Fuyutsuki.  
  
"Yes, Sub-commander," answered Misato. "1/4 of the facility was damaged by the N^2."  
  
"I was sent here by Commander Ikari with the following orders: Transport the Evangelions to another holding cage, and wait until morning to repair them. Find the intruder who was in the cage, and capture him _alive_. If I'm not mistaken, the cameras saw him near section LK-203b. That is all."  
  
"Yes, sir." Misato relayed the orders to Makoto, who was still recovering from the blast.  
  
  
  
Well, that was certainly a mess of things, Snake thought to himself, as he ran past behind a guard's back. The Soliton radar was fried indefinitely, but his Codec was still working. Sneaking around was a bit more difficult without the radar, but not impossible. Years of experience would make up for that. He needed to find a spot to hide in, and to treat this bothersome head wound.  
  
He found a door labeled, "TREATMENT ROOM." He opened the door carefully, and saw that no one was in there. He quickly walked inside and locked the door. Inside, he found some gauze, antiseptic and bandages, but decided to make a Codec call first. He dialed 140.85.  
  
"Snake! What happened? Our sensors report a small N^2 explosion." Commander Tadokoro looked very worried.  
  
"The run-in with Eva turned out to be a bad one." Snake answered. "It was me who set off the bomb. It was more of a last resort, but I made it out in one piece," he said as he flinched lightly from the pain of his wound.  
  
Inside the submarine, Kunashiri, everyone could breath a little easier after hearing that Snake was fine. "Ok Snake, sounds good," Tadokoro replied. "Now Snake, what you need to - -"  
  
On the screen, he could see Snake turning his head to the noise of the room's door being knocked down.  
  
"FREEZE, INTRUDER!" they heard on the Codec. Then, static took control of the screen.  
  
  
  
A man made his report to his superior.  
  
"The preparations have been made," he said.  
  
"Excellent. NERV will be almost defenseless in the morning. It will be ripe to attack then."  
  
"I'll take my leave now sir. Judas, out."  
  
"Big Boss" sat in his chair, his golden hair shining in the moonlight that is entering from a window. All is well.  
  
  
  
Makoto Hyugga looked up from his screen to report to Misato. Sub-commander Fuyutsuki inexplicably left a few minutes ago.  
  
"Intruder has been captured alive, and is being taken to the holding cells."  
  
Shinji arrived from his Eva just in time to see this happen on the screen. The stranger sure put up a fight, but was brought down eventually. He could see the soldiers drag his unconscious body away.  
  
END OF PHASE 8  
  
  
  
How was this chapter? I hope my depiction of the Eva was ok. Please review this chapter.  
  
Snake, captured? NERV, supposedly defenseless? Are the ninjas dead or alive? Will they get any info out of Snake? Find out in the next chapter. Latz.  
  
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners. 


	9. A Brief Respite

Welcome to Phase 9. Where we last left Snake, he tried his fraggin' best to hold off an Evangelion, before a reluctant Shinji Ikari fights EVA-02 in hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, the two angels face off against each other for a short while, until Snake sends a miniaturized N^2 grenade toward their direction, blowing up the entire cage. Amazingly, Snake escapes with only a head wound, but...  
  
  
  
"FREEZE, INTRUDER!!!"  
  
Snake whipped his head around, glancing at the door in front of him. He immediately ripped his Five-seveN out of his leather holster, just before the door slammed to the ground with a metallic CLANG in a cloud of dust, revealing several heavily armed NERV guards. He aimed and double-tapped the closest guard, pulling the trigger two times in quick succession. One of the guards grunted as he caught two of Snake's suppressed 5.7mm rounds - - one in the chest, and the other in his left eye - - before going down in a spray of crimson. He shot six more armor-piercing slugs at the advancing soldiers before turning around and running in a zigzagged fashion intended to throw the guards' aim off. He reached a wooden desk and hastily vaulted over it, placing one hand on the wooden face while stretching out his legs to arch over the desk. He slammed to the floor, a hail of gunfire slamming into the desk, sending shards of wood floating into the air.  
  
Using the upturned desk as a shield, Snake stuck his gun-hand out to fire randomly at the troops. Some guards soon found themselves hitting the floor wounded or dead, but the remainder took cover from outside the room.  
  
This reminded him of the incident in the communication tower somehow. (Except there's no bloody stairs,) he thought to himself as he reached to a pouch where a flashbang would normally be. He felt nothing.  
  
"Damn it!" Snake cursed himself, as he remembered that he used all of his stuns in the last fight with the Evangelion. He retrieved a frag grenade from another pouch instead.  
  
Snake pulled the pin and tossed it over the desk. An explosion followed it, and Snake quickly ran for a door on the other side of the treatment room. He led with his gun; and when the automatic door opened, he found himself in front of a large group of guards brandishing electric stun batons and riot shields.  
  
Gun in front of him, Snake fired at the advancing troops. He managed to strike a few guards with his bullets, but the shields kept the rest of the guards from potential lead poisoning. The click of his gun seemed to resonate across the building, causing Snake and the guards to pause.  
  
(Shit...) Snake stood still as the first guard cautiously walked forward, motioning with his stun baton for Snake to cooperate and walk towards them peacefully. Snake looked down at his gun and bounced it on one palm, let the trigger guard slide over one finger, and holding the butt up to the guard, indicating his surrender. The first guard, with an expression of nervousness on his face, looked at his comrades for some kind of reassurance. The guards nodded at him, urging him to move on.  
  
Snake smirked, and then threw the gun at the guard's head, the butt catching him in between the eyes. Snake laughed darkly in amusement, then gasped in pain initiated by hundreds of volts of electricity as the rest of the guards rushed him. He could do nothing as they repeatedly shocked him, numbing his nerves and causing him to collapse on the floor, gasping for air. The last thing he experienced before slipping to unconsciousness was his body being dragged along the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling before everything faded to black.  
  
  
  
Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse  
  
11-41 Studios  
  
Enter Phase 9: A Brief Respite  
  
  
  
It was 10:30 PM, Tokyo-3 time. Shinji was lying down on a sleeping mat, plug suit still on. He was in the same room that Asuka and Rei were in, both resting in their hospital beds. Shinji was wearing the headphones of his S-DAT player, even though the batteries were dead. He just felt more comfortable with them on. If he could wear them in the entry plug without damaging them, he would. Shinji just had this idea that the headphones block out the outside world, though deep down, he knew this was far from the truth. Sleep overtook his weary mind and body, joining the rest of the pilots who were already asleep.  
  
Shinji found himself in a large, white room. It smelled of disinfected death, much like a hospital would. On the far side of the room, he could see Asuka, still asleep on her hospital bed.  
  
"Asuka!" Shinji screamed, running towards the bed. He then fell back and hit the floor as an A.T. field seemingly unfolded from nonexistence. A flaring orange illuminated the room, blocking the entrance to the room, the walls, and Asuka's bed.  
  
"What is this?", Shinji gasped, slamming his palm onto the A.T. Field, trying to reach for Asuka. "Asuka? Can you hear me? Help me with this, Asuka! Please. please listen! Please, Asuka? PLEASE!"  
  
"Sorry, Kiddo. She can't hear you... and she won't help you."  
  
Shinji turned around, staring at the person in front of him.  
  
It was... It was - -  
  
"K - - Kaji?", Shinji gasped, then shook his head, as if refusing to believe. "No. No, you're dead. I - -I thought you were..."  
  
Kaji nodded, smiling sadly. "Yeah, I guess I am. But don't worry about me. I'm already dead, remember?"  
  
His smirk slowly turned into a frown, his eyes turning dark and serious. "It's you I'm worried about. I mean, damn, Shinji, you've got so much angst, even for a teenager. But I digress. After all, I've never been though what you've been through." The AT-field dissipated, allowing Kaji to lead Shinji up to Asuka's bed. They both looked down at her sadly.  
  
"You must care a lot for her if you need her help so much. Why do you need her help anyways?"  
  
Shinji arched his back at that question and clutched his hand into fists, sucking in air. "Because I'm weak! I'm dishonest, I'm a coward, I'm - -"  
  
"Here we go with this angsty crap again..." Kaji interrupted, sounding exasperated. "Look, you need to be more aware of what you can do, instead of what you can't. You really are ignorant of your own reputation, Shinji Ikari. It takes a pretty strong person to pilot one of those things," he said, pointing to a large object in the distance.  
  
Shinji looked away from Kaji and was surprised to find one of the walls gone, replaced with the immense face and sneer of Evangelion Unit-01.  
  
"No, it doesn't. I'm not strong..." Shinji muttered, shaking his head.  
  
"Look, Shinji, you need to be strong for Asuka, but you need to be strong for yourself first. Asuka's going to need it in the future. Her life, and yours, and everyone in the whole world will depend on your strength."  
  
"I-I-I don't feel any sort of strength within me. I'm nothing! I'm l- lower than scum! I c-can't do anyth - -"  
  
Shinji was cut off as a fist slammed into the side of his stuttering mouth, making him fall to the floor on his bottom.  
  
"Damn, that felt good!" Kaji said with a tinge of satisfaction, looking down at Shinji and clenching his left hand. "Nice to see I still got my left hook... And you'd think that a ghost's punch wouldn't feel so solid either."  
  
Indeed, it felt very solid... almost real; Shinji doubted for a second whether or not he was really dreaming. Tears welled up in Shinji's eyes as he cupped his bruised cheek and stared up at Kaji. "K...Kaji? Why?"  
  
"Nothing personal, Shinji. But now I know why Misato hit you. She had the right idea, you know. Someone just had to knock some sense into you. Look, Shinji, you need to understand, from now on, your actions predetermine what will happen to this world. Now, if you let the Third Impact happen, the entirety of mankind will fuse into... well something that you wouldn't like; and that's what will happen if you don't shape up," Kaji said as he helped Shinji to his feet.  
  
"Now I know this is all very hard, but it's for your future, mankind's future..." He points to Asuka. "...And her future. I'll leave you alone now. Catch you later soon, and tell Misato hi for me... and tell her I'm sorry."  
  
  
  
She cried out in pain, her legs buckling under her. She got shot.  
  
He could only watch as crimson blood trailed from her leg, and winced as he heard her scream in response. He dodged back onto the wall, where the enemy wouldn't get him. He watched again, in shock, as a small portion of her stomach exploded, blood gushing from the wound. She lay on the floor, a pathetic sprawled form wracking with shuddering breaths.  
  
He forced open his mouth, screaming one word, one word that meant so much to him.  
  
"MERYL!"  
  
He hated the fact that he could do nothing to save her. It was the oldest trick in the sniper book... shoot an enemy's comrade, and wait for him to come out and save his friend.  
  
"I... I'd just slow you down... Shoot me, Snake!"  
  
"NO!" Snake exclaimed. His shock paralyzed him, and she was dying right before his eyes. "K-keep on fighting... and don't give up on people!", Meryl wheezed, tears streaking down her cheeks, a thin trail of blood sliding down her mouth. "D-don't forget me, Snake..."  
  
The CODEC rang incessantly in Snake's ears, and he frantically reached out to activate it.  
  
  
  
Snake woke up abruptly.  
  
Covered in sheen of sweat, he blinked. He was tied down in a chair, his restraints canceling out his struggle to move his arms and legs. Taking in his surroundings, he sighed.  
  
He was captured, and in a room that used to be a usual interrogation room, complete with the standard one-sided glass. His head whipped to the side as he saw a door open and close. A tall man, most likely in his 50s, stepped into the room. He walked up to Snake.  
  
Snake blinked up at him, trying to see his features. Then the man spoke.  
  
"The legendary Solid Snake - - The hero of three separate Metal Gear uprising incidents. Your reputation precedes you in the defense business," he spoke with a voice that was soft and calm. Speaking in English, his Japanese accent was thick and almost undecipherable.  
  
Snake shook his head, trying to ward away the fog that clouded his consciousness. He could see a little bit of the man's features, but most of him was still blurred.  
  
"...The hell do you want, Colonel Sanders?" he demanded, breaking off with a rasping cough.  
  
The man was taken aback by the strange reply, but continued to talk. "I am Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, second-in-command here at NERV. I must say, you are a long ways from Americans."  
  
"I could say the same thing about your English. Your accent is as bad as Mei Ling's.," Snake retorted in Japanese, then looked the man over and smirked. "And you're a lot less cuter, too."  
  
Fuyutsuki frowned. He began to talk to Snake in Japanese from then on. "I must ask you, what is your business here in NERV? Who are those ninjas? Are you associated with them?"  
  
"Whoa, slow down, Slick," Snake interrupted. "I just woke up from my nap. By the way, sorry about the little mess I made in your playhouse with your toy robots."  
  
Fuyutsuki just smiled. "You're absolutely right. I invite you to stay for the night. You will be dealt with tomorrow morning." He motioned for the guard behind Snake, and the guard shocked him once with a stun baton, making Snake barely conscious. He was dragged back to his cell. (Arrogant cowboy...) Fuyutsuki thought to himself with an evil smirk across his face. (He'll get what's coming to him,) he thought to himself with an evil grin. (...and so will everyone else.)  
  
  
  
Snake regained his consciousness again, and found himself unrestrained, in a prison cell. There was only one small window, which was on the triple- steel reinforced door. All his weapons had been taken from him, but one thing went unnoticed - - a pack of cigarettes: his favorite brand. (These things are hard to find ever since the abolishment of tobacco in the U.S.,) he thought to himself, as he lit one up. He had to give them up a while back, until he came to Japan and realized that cigarettes were perfectly legal here. He took this moment to report to his Codec crew.  
  
"Snake, you're all right!!" an ecstatic Otacon exclaimed on the screen. It was good to see a familiar face. "Jeez, you look like crap, what did they do to you?"  
  
"They kicked my ass," Snake replied dryly. "So, I don't suppose you can get me a ketchup bottle right around now, could you?"  
  
Otacon smiled. "No, I suppose not. Our satellite images here show that you held off an _Evangelion_ for almost 4 minutes. Entire armies aren't able to do that! That's amazing!"  
  
"Well, yeah, those things can take a punch," Snake replied.  
  
"I would have expected so. Those Evas are able to withstand a full N^2 charge without missing a beat!"  
  
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette as he thought about this. "Pretty impressive. So, if that purple robot hadn't shown up to save my ass, would I have been a goner?"  
  
Otacon nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Well, it would have been very likely."  
  
There was a short pause in the conversation before Snake decided to say something. "Otacon... how do I get the hell out of here?"  
  
"You should talk to the Commander. He knows more about this." Tadokoro's face appeared on the codec screen.  
  
"It's nice to see you're still alive," he said. "What you need to do right now is just rest. They'll probably ask you some questions in the morning. Don't answer anything that might incriminate us."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Snake smiled to himself as he thought about that old bastard's terrible English. "Now, you need to answer my questions. Who the hell are those ninjas?"  
  
Tadokoro replied. "I believe our analyst Akane has those answers. She used to work in NERV, and now, she works for the UN." Eliza's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"You used to work for NERV? What did you do?" Snake asked.  
  
"Well, I worked on part of the headquarters design. I made it so it could withstand Angel attacks, but never human attacks. I also helped contract Fabrique Nationale, the weapons company who made armaments for NERV's personal defense. I also helped a brilliant scientist there by the name of Dr. Akagi, assisting her in the Clone Transfer System."  
  
"Clone Transfer System?" Snake asked.  
  
"Yes, it's a system designed to sort of pull one's soul out to transfer it to another body. It is also used to repress memories from the soul. You see, Snake, not only do memories have a physical presence in the brain, they also have a presence in your soul - - in your essence, in a manner of speaking. I- - I'm not sure what it was used for... I would imagine that it was used for some type of clone; hence the name."  
  
"So why did you quit NERV?"  
  
Oh... well, I didn't really quit... Umm, I was transferred to the Russian NERV branch, then I was released, and decided to work for the UN as an analyst." Snake could sense that she was avoiding something.  
  
"Well, to answer your question, Snake, the history of that ninja goes back to before I was assigned as the chief analyst for the UN. My predecessor helped in the study of AT-fields and superhuman power in humans. They came across a breakthrough, but decided that they would need a human subject for it. They took a person who was already dead, revived him, and drugged him for several weeks while they did tests on him. The test subject showed signs that he had a significantly strong AT-field, but he could not control it, and he went berserk. He killed everyone in the test area, and escaped. From what I understand, the project was canceled, so I have no idea why there would be more than one ninja..."  
  
"So why is he attacking NERV?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I don't know much else about the project. Anyways, you shouldn't worry about that now. Focus on the next morning, but for right now, try to get some rest. I have a feeling that you'll need it for tomorrow." Eliza blew a kiss to Snake. "Good luck." The codec shut off.  
  
Snake lied down on the prison mattress. "She's pretty cute," he said to himself. He threw the cigarette butt away, and closed his eyes.  
  
  
  
It was 6:30 AM. It was Misato's turn to stay up now, along with a few computer operators. Everyone's been sleeping in shifts in the control room (with the exception of Gendo and Fuyutsuki, who slept in their quarters), because everyone was afraid of the ninja. Maya had been a total wreck after the incident with Shigeru, so she was allowed to sleep through the night.  
  
Misato wondered what this man might be doing here in Japan. She found it hard to comprehend how the government would send just one man to bring down this whole operation. But after looking at his record, it wasn't all too impossible for this guy to do anything! 32 forms of oriental combat, fluent in 6 languages, attended sneak attack school, ex-Marine and CIA... In 1995, he forced an entire terrorist nation to surrender. In 1999, he put down the Zanzibar riot, and in 2000, just before Second Impact, he stopped the Genome revolution. Coincidentally, all three events involve Solid Snake destroying a nuclear weapon-equipped walking battle tank called "Metal Gear."  
  
(So, it would explain a little bit how he was able to hold back an Evangelion like that,) she thought to herself. Later on that morning, she will have to interrogate him, she reminded herself. (That man seems impossible to talk to. I hope I can get some answers out of him.)  
  
  
  
Amazingly, she wasn't too badly injured, especially after an explosion like that. Just a few things - - cuts, a dislocated shoulder (which she fixed easily, albeit with a lot of pain) - - but it was nothing she couldn't take care of. The AT-field did its job well. She found a treatment room (without killing or getting discovered; she wasn't in the type of shape to kill)... but it was not empty. A soldier was there, searching through the cupboards for something. He seemed to be sneezing a lot...  
  
"Damn, I caught a cold! I hate Tokyo-3. Boy, is that Major Katsuragi hot... AACHOOO Now, where is that medicine?"  
  
The ninja activated her stealth, and proceeded to walk up to the soldier from behind. With the lightest touch, she grabbed his head with both hands and twisted it violently, breaking the neck. Dropping the body gently, she briefly glanced at his ID (Sasaki, Johnny), and proceeded to search the cupboard for medical items.  
  
  
  
END OF PHASE 9  
  
There we go. I know there's not much action in this one. I just thought it would be fitting that there shouldn't be any gunfights at 3 in the morning. Besides, it's been one combat-packed chapter after another, so this is a nice break from the stress. Eh... maybe next chapter, right?  
  
Now for a special acknowledgement. I would like to thank my pre-reader, Bad Ronald, for the immense amount of help he's given me to improve this chapter. I never thought this writing could improve so much in this way, so I thank him for that. Also, be on the lookout for his Evangelion fiction called "The Mask." It's looking good so far. Look for chapter 10 soon. Coolness! Latz.  
  
Almost forgot! To answer Deathangel's question, the fake darpa chief, was in fact, Decoy Octopus. When he took the chief's blood as his own, he also took FOXDIE with him, so he's the one that ended up with the heart attack.  
  
UPDATE 11.10.02 alas, i have been rejected again! evafics.org has decided to reject my fiction once again (that's twice already) after i corrected a few things. it's disappointing, but it only shows my n00bieness as a fan fiction writer, which i mean to correct. each time i write a new chapter, i learn new things that i can use to improve myself.  
  
one thing i discovered was the absolute usefulness and necessity of a pre- reader. i have one right now, and he's shown me so many ways i can improve my writing, and that's just with one chapter! so, i'm asking for more help. i'm looking for 2-3 more very good pre-readers who can help me spruce up the first 8 chapters, as well as for upcoming chapters. if you can show me in some way that you are a good pre-reader, i'll take you. e- mail me at KLstumpy@yahoo.com with the subject "PREREADER." i'd appreciate it a lot.  
  
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners. 


	10. Betrayals

This is Phase 10 of MGL:A. Last time, Snake was captured, and was unsuccessfully interrogated by Fuyutsuki. The Rei-ninja seems to have gotten away safely. Misato is getting ready to try and get some answers out of Snake. Now, back to the story.  
  
Quick note: I am not an Asuka/Shinji, nor a Rei/Shinji fan. I'm neutral in this matter. But, I realize that this story is leaning towards Asuka/Shinji (it's all for the plot), so in advance, if I hear any complaints from the R/S fanboys (and girls) to make it R/S, too bad, 'cuz I'm not changing anything. The basic plot is set in stone. Now, back to the story...  
  
UPDATE 12.4.02 Thanks to one of my trusty pre-readers, he helped me fix some OOC and wording in this chapter. This new version of Phase 10 should read a lot better, especially the part about Snake's battle and... oops, I might say too much here if you haven't read the story. Bunches of Thank You's to my pre-readers Autophage, RagnarokZ, Phoenix512, Reckless, and Bad Ronald.  
  
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Shinji Ikari slowly woke up, his eyelids sliding open, the light of morning shining on his face. He craned his head to check the clock, and found out that it was 8:00AM, Tokyo-3 time. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up from his bed, looking around. He was in the same bland hospital room, with the same bland ceiling. Gently kicking off his blanket, he stood on his sleeping mat and walked over to his co-pilots' bedsides.  
  
He looked over to Asuka's bed, and saw that she was still in a coma, her prone form taking slow, unconscious breaths. He looked over to Rei's bed, seeing that it was empty. Shinji nervously walked over to Asuka's bedside and sat beside her, thinking about the words (and the left hook) Kaji gave him in his dream. His left hand, shaking in nervousness, hovered for a second above Asuka's head, only to touch her soft, long hair, running his fingers through it. He bent over, as if to kiss her, but instead - -  
  
"I... I won't run away, Asuka..." Shinji whispered softly in her ear, his lips gently trembling as he said these words. This caused Asuka to shiver slightly at the wind gently grazing her ear, and Shinji became excited at the possibility that she could wake up that morning.  
  
He waited quietly for several minutes for a reply, and was disappointed when Asuka had returned to her stoic state soon after. Shinji stopped stroking her hair and moved his hand to touch her warm cheek before standing up, breathing in a lonely sigh.  
  
Shinji felt his stomach grumbling, and realized that he hasn't had anything to eat last night. After getting out of his plug suit and into his usual school uniform (which was laid out for him on a bedside table). Knowing that it probably wasn't safe to go to the NERV cafeteria, he headed to the control room, where everyone else was.  
  
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Misato, running on four cups of coffee, rode the elevator down to the holding cells. The last nerve-wracking 12 hours have taken its toll on her, and she looked terrible. Nevertheless, she kept on a determined face as she headed to the interrogation room. On the way, she passed by another occupied cell - - Ritsuko Akagi's. Misato became nervous as she walked as quickly as possible to keep away from the door, since she knew Ritsuko was most likely watching her.  
  
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Inside a darkened cell, a disheveled Ritsuko whispered to herself as she watch Misato quicken her pace.  
  
"You won't be able to run soon... no one will."  
  
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Metal Gear Legends: To Thwart an Apocalypse  
  
11-41 Studios  
  
Enter Phase 10: Betrayals  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Snake was already up, having a morning smoke. He finished the cigarette, taking one last drag, and tossed the butt away. He appeared to be in good condition, despite the situation he was in last night. He may have been a prisoner, but they still fed him, as was evidenced by the empty food tray on the floor. He thought back to the Codec call he received during breakfast...  
  
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"Hey Snake, are they feeding you there?" Otacon sounded cheerful this morning.  
  
"Yeah, actually, they have. Could use a little ketchup though..." Snake joked.  
  
Otacon chuckled a bit at the inside reference. "Well, they'll probably be interrogating you soon, so when that happens, keep your Codec on so we can hear what they're saying."  
  
"So, who do you think will be doing my interview? I better get ready for my close-up," Snake asked. Eliza Akane's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"I think I can answer that. If you say that Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki already tried to question you, I'm willing to guess that it will either be Major Misato Katsuragi, or Dr. Ritsuko Akagi... an old... colleague of mine." Snake raised an eyebrow as he heard her voice tense up as she said the word "colleague".  
  
"Colleague, huh? Sounds like you two didn't get along well."  
  
"You could say that." Akane looked uneasy, as she answered Snake's question.  
  
Akane was suddenly cut off as Commander Tadokoro's face flashed on the screen. "Snake, it is imperative that you escape from there as quick as you can, and continue your way towards Gendo Ikari. My guess is that he's somewhere deep in the facility, probably near the LCL plant."  
  
"LCL?" Snake inquired.  
  
"Link Connecting Fluid. Otacon knows more about that." The screen flickered to show Otacon's face.  
  
Otacon sighed and pushed up his glasses before he began to explain to Snake. "LCL is a fluid that we used to fill the pilot's entry plugs with. Once immersed, the pilot is able to breathe in the LCL, because it provides him with oxygen. The LCL allows the pilot to synch with the Evangelion better, allowing for better control. It also protects the pilot's mind from damage. Even though I worked with the Eva project, I have no idea how they make the LCL - - I just know where it was made, and that's in the Terminal Dogma of the NERV headquarters."  
  
"So, you worked with NERV? You must have worked in the Second Branch in New Mexico." Snake asked.  
  
"Yes, that's right. I worked with the development of the EVA Unit-04." Otacon's voice sounded enthusiastic. "It was to be a revolutionary new design, because it would be the first Eva to use a working S^2 engine!"  
  
"S^2?"  
  
"That's right. Using information based on the Super Solenoid Theory, we were able to recreate the very same power source that the Angels used! It allows for free movement, unrestricted by the umbilical power cables that Evangelions typically use to power themselves up."  
  
Snake thought for a second as he chewed his eggs. "Wait a minute... the purple Eva last night didn't have a power cable, and neither did the red one."  
  
"Well, all Evangelions are able to run for five minutes without an external power source, they run on internal battery," Otacon answered, blinking earnestly. "Evangelion Unit-01 is a special case, however. It ate, that is to say, literally ate, an Angel's S^2 engine, making the engine its own. I was lucky enough to obtain video footage of this! You should've seen it, Snake; it just dove into it and ripped it apart, chowing down on everything!"  
  
Snake paused briefly on his meal. The sides of his jaw clenched tightly, his fork quivering over his food. "Otacon..." he muttered. "I'm trying to eat here."  
  
"Hehe... sorry about that, Snake," Otacon said, smiling sheepishly.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Otacon..." Snake said with a small smirk on his face. "Anyways, what happened to the Fourth Unit?"  
  
Otacon was silent for a second. "Well, when activating the unit's S^2 engine, the Eva - - along with the base - - just disappeared... I was on routine business in Washington that day, but if I had been there..."  
  
Snake lit a cigarette. "I understand. I'm sorry, Otacon," he said with sympathy in his voice.  
  
"It's alright. Oh, the commander wants to talk to you."  
  
Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "Snake, when you get a chance to escape, take it. By our estimates, Ikari might start the Third Impact ritual as early as noon. Find him, and kill him. Keep this line open, they'll be coming to interrogate you soon." The screen turned blank, but the Codec line was still on.  
  
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"Be careful. This guy's dangerous," Misato warned to the guards who were about to open the door to Snake's cell. They brandished their own stun batons nervously, and there were four more riot guards behind them, just in case things heated up. Misato took in a deep breath and put on her best poker face, hoping that all this would move along smoothly. The door in front of her slid open.  
  
Misato stared as the hunched stubbled man sitting on the metal chair turned to her, his intense gaze unwavering.  
  
Snake scowled, and then studied the shapely figure in front of him. He smirked. "I didn't think they'd send someone like you."  
  
She fought off the urge to roll her eyes, and said crisply in Japanese, "Solid Snake, is it?"  
  
He nodded, that damned grin still plastered on his face.  
  
"I am Captain Misato Katsuragi. We need to talk."  
  
A voice echoed in Snake's ear. It was the Eliza's. "Go ahead, and try not to cause too much trouble, ok?" Snake smiled, and allowed the guards to put restraints on him before following the Major to an interrogation room.  
  
Snake examined his new surroundings. He was in a different interrogation room from last night. This one did not have the one-sided glass, nor did it have any security cameras or any signs that the room was being monitored. The guards sat Snake down in a folding metal chair, and Misato motioned for them to leave. Snake pulled out another cigarette and his lighter from a pouch, and proceeded to smoke in front of Misato.  
  
Misato was puzzled. "Where did you get that? We took all your things from you."  
  
Snake chuckled. "Well, obviously not everything..."  
  
Misato smiled faintly for a brief second, and began the interrogation. "Looking at your record, I can see you're well suited for whatever it is you're doing here." She looked at her list of questions on her clipboard, which wasn't really much. "How did you manage to get into the facility undetected?"  
  
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette. "Magicians never reveal their secrets, do they?" This caused Misato to tighten her lips and narrow her eyes.  
  
"Go ahead, you can answer this," the Codec said to him. It was Akane's voice again.  
  
Snake sighed, and complied with Eliza's request. "Well, your ninja friends took out most of the cameras and guards around here, so it just made a simple job even easier," he said boastfully.  
  
Misato was taken aback by this show of pride. She regained her poise, and began to ask more questions. "So, exactly what is your purpose here?"  
  
The Codec talked to Snake again. "Just give her the basics."  
  
"I'm here to kill your boss," he said rather bluntly. It disturbed Misato, almost causing her to lose her poker face. Taking in a deep breath and gaining her bearings, she lifted her nose up at him and asked quickly, "Why?"  
  
"Go ahead and tell her. This sounds crazy, but it just might give you an opening to escape," Tadokoro said to Snake over the Codec. (That _is_ crazy, but it's worth a shot...) Snake thought.  
  
Snake took a long drag on his cigarette, then proceeded talking. "To keep it short, your boss is a bastard who wants to kick-start the Apocalypse and murder everyone in the world, including all the people in this sorry base, for his own means. Don't bother asking me any more questions. people treat me like a grunt all the time, so that's all I know."  
  
Misato remembered now. She knew all of the truth when she took a visit to the NERV computer archives. Third Impact, Lilith, the Angels, the Evangelions... (And one man is going to stop all of this?!?) She thought to herself, staring in the stranger's eyes. This man was an intruder, but he might stop the end of Mankind... he _can_ stop it, and he _will_. She could see the determination in his eyes. Misato Katsuragi did not want the world to end, and in front of her was the person who could prevent it.  
  
So. she closed her eyes, clenched her fists. and made a choice.  
  
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Shinji found Rei seated next to a console in the control room, eating a piece of toast. The cafeteria, under the supervision of several guards, had brought food up to the control room, where most of the people were (Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki, the guards patrolling the hallways, and Misato, who was currently interrogating Snake, were possibly the only ones who were not here). Shinji took a plate of eggs and toast, and sat next to Rei.  
  
"Umm. A-Ayanami, how do you feel?" the young Ikari asked quietly.  
  
"I am feeling adequate, pilot Ikari," was the brief reply she gave.  
  
Shinji paused for a brief second, and decided to ask Rei something. "Ayanami, last night, wha - -" Shinji stopped himself in mid-sentence. (I remember now, Rei doesn't recall anything from last night.) "N-never mind." Shinji said sadly, and returned his attention to his meal. A few awkward minutes passed between them until - -  
  
Rei stood up abruptly. "I apologize, pilot Ikari, but I must attend to something." Rei walked away, leaving a very confused Shinji alone.  
  
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Snake looked up at his gray cell door, with a peculiar smile on his face. The guards behind him - - the same guards that took him out last time - - had held him still while another guard stepped ahead of them and took out his keys to open the door, his stun baton hanging loosely off his belt.  
  
Snake looked back at the guards behind him, and saw that Misato wasn't with them, and neither were any of the riot guards. He recalled one of them talking about more pressing matters involving the death of a guard by decapitation.  
  
The door swung open, and the guard stepped back to let him walk in. Snake turned to all three of them, who were glaring at him impatiently to get in.  
  
"You know, for heavily armored guards, you guys are kind of careless..." he shrugged, returning their glare.  
  
They only folded their arms in response, their glare unwavering.  
  
"I mean, I could just slip my hands out of my restraints like so..." Snake said, smoothly dropping the loosened cuff, which clattered on the floor with an audible clang!.  
  
They reacted instantly, their hands darting for their stun batons.  
  
"Those are some nice toys," Snake said, stepping aside as one of the guards lunged in with the baton. He wrapped an arm around the guard's neck and snatched away the baton, spinning the guard around so that the guard was facing the others.  
  
The second guard stepped forward with his arm reared back, his baton swirling towards Snake's head. Snake moved his head to the side, the baton smashing against his shoulder and the captive guard's helmet. He scowled at the pain, and then smiled as he heard an agonizing scream erupt from the injured guard. He quickly shuffled backwards, the injured guard moving with him. He then quickly shook off his leg restraints from one leg and kicked them towards the two rushing guards, one of them catching the restraints with his face. Snake clutched the baton and looked down at it.  
  
"You mind if I play with them?" he asked the struggling guard, showing him the tazer. Wasting no time for an answer, Snake buried the tazer edge of the baton into the guard's open helmet visor, the man shaking violently from thousands of volts of electricity before falling unconscious.  
  
The last guard moved forward, and Snake threw the baton at him. The guard caught it with one hand and scowled. He aimed both tazer ends towards Snake and lunged at him.  
  
Snake dodged to the side and spun on his heels twice, punching away the batons on the first spin, letting the guard rush past, and used the second spin as a set-up for a spinning back kick, burying his heel onto the guard's unprotected neck and forcing him to stumble into the open cell.  
  
Snake stepped forward and spun around as the guard turned to face him, planting a roundhouse kick into his neck, sending him sprawling on the wall. He showed no mercy by pulling a pistol from his vest, a Glock G18 automatic that Misato handed to him, and thrust it under the guard's chin, double-tapping his head and staining the steel cell wall with his brains.  
  
As soon as the guard dropped, Snake kicked his lifeless carcass for good measure.  
  
"You guys are lousy! I've killed faster Genome Soldiers than you," Snake muttered as he tucked the borrowed gun back under his vest and lit another cigarette.  
  
As Snake finished placing the bodies inside the cell and closed the door, he could hear someone banging on a door. It was coming from one of the other cells down the hallway. "Hey! What's going on out there?" said someone in Japanese.  
  
Using a key that Snake pilfered from one of the dead guards, he opened the door, Glock at the ready. The door revealed a blonde woman in her thirties, wearing a pair of eyeglasses. Snake remembered the face when he was being briefed on his mission.  
  
"You must be Dr. Ritsuko Akagi," Snake said.  
  
Ritsuko was surprised at the sight of a gun-wielding stranger, especially since the gun was pointed straight at her. "Who are you," she asked, "and how do you know me?"  
  
"A little voice inside my head told me," Snake sarcastically retorted.  
  
The Codec line was still on. Eliza talked to Snake. "Ritsuko? In a holding cell? Something isn't right... she's one of the most trusted individuals in the facility. You'd better question her." Tadokoro appeared on the screen. "If she's in a holding cell, she must have done something to betray NERV. She might be useful later on."  
  
Ritsuko was a bit puzzled as to why Snake had his hand up to his left ear, as he was listening to something inside it. "Who are you? Who sent you? Are you a spy?"  
  
"Quiet. Listen, you don't ask the questions here - - I do. And you're going to answer them in exchange for your freedom."  
  
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The morning sun revealed a battle-scarred face, with a few long strands of platinum-blonde hair dangling in front of it. A chopper was waiting for him outside. Currently, he was talking to someone on the phone - - his spy.  
  
"How are things today, my trusty accomplice?" He asked his spy.  
  
"Everything's going according to plan. Snake is captured as well, so when this is all over, you may do with him as you wish."  
  
"Excellent. Well, if Snake isn't around to kill Ikari, then you will have to do it. I'm sure that is... to your liking."  
  
"Of course. So, can we expect you here in a few hours?"  
  
"I will be arriving soon. Get ready for my arrival, and make sure I have a clear way of getting into the Dogma. Remember to take Adam from Ikari, and give him to me."  
  
"Understood. Over and out."  
  
The man chuckled to himself as he stepped out of the door to meet the chopper waiting for him.  
  
"I'll see you soon... dear brother."  
  
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END PHASE 10  
  
Horror of horrors! Could Snake's greatest adversary still be alive? And what can Ritsuko do to help Snake? Find out in the next exciting chapter of MGL:A!  
  
Story (c) 2002 11-41 Studios. All your characters used in this story are belong to their respective owners. 


	11. Revenge Will Be Mine

Welcome to Phase 11 of the TIT (huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh...).  Hmm, maybe I shouldn't use the abbreviation anymore...  

Sorry it's been such a long time, and I hope the old readers will still be around to check this out.  And as for you new readers, welcome!  I know with all the rewrites, it might get confusing, but please bear with me... I'm only one person.  Anyways, enjoy!!  

Where we last left off, Snake was able to escape with Misato's help.  In the middle of his escape, he comes across another prisoner - - a Dr. Ritsuko Akagi...

Gendo Ikari slept well last night.  He knew that in a few hours, he would be with his Yui.  No one would be able to stop him from enacting the Third Impact - - not NERV, not SEELE, and certainly not Keel Lorenz.  He need only put together three pieces of the puzzle: Rei, Lilith, and...

(Adam,) Gendo thought to himself as he looked down on his right palm.  There was a large embryo embedded under the skin.  (This will be my key to life everlasting with you, Yui...)

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11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion**** :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: New Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 11: Revenge Will Be Mine_

-------------------------------------

Ritsuko was a bit puzzled as to why Snake had his hand up to his left ear, as he was listening to something inside it.  "Who the hell are you?"

Snake diverted his attention now to Ritsuko, with his gun still pointed at her face.  "That's not important.  You're gonna answer some questions for me, in exchange for your freedom..."

The sight of the stranger dressed in grey, and the unnerving sensation of a loaded gun pointed at her face, scared the doctor, almost out of her wits.  Sweat trickled steadily down her brow, and her hands began to shake involuntarily in fear.  

"Wha- - What do you need to know?"

"I'm need to know where your boss is, 'cuz I'm here to help him 'shuffle loose this mortal coil,' and I'll be helping you do some shuffling as well if I don't get some answers," Snake said gruffly.

Ritsuko stood there with an expression of shock on her face, which slowly transformed into a devious smile.  Ever since she was thrown in her cell by Gendo for the destruction of the dummy plug system, all she thought about was - -

(If this guy is here to kill that bastard...,) she thought, (Yes, this can help me a lot...)

This smile gave Snake a small shiver down his spine.  It looked like she was up to no good.  (Is this lady ok?  She looks like a basket-case when she's smiling like this.)

Ritsuko was only too happy to help this man.  "So, where do I start...?"

-------------------------------------

Asuka, dressed in her red plug suit, was in a room so dark, she could not even see her hand when she placed it in front of her face.  The last thing she remembered was sitting down naked in a decrepit old bathtub, listless and miserable.  She thought that she must have died, and this is Hell, or at least Purgatory, even though she had no religion.  From what she could tell by staggering blindly up to a wall, and walking the length of each side, the room was square, with each side about 20 meters long.  She had been in there for so long; she had lost track of what day it is or what the time is.  Strangely, she did not feel hungry or sleepy either.  At first, she contemplated asking for help from anyone - - The Invincible Shinji, Misato, or even Wondergirl - - but who would help someone with a sync ratio that can't even activate an Eva?  After this, she just sat down in the middle of the room and broke down crying.  This place was Asuka's pit of despair, and she's wallowed in its emotional filth for God knows how long.

The tears don't last forever, though... After a while, her eyes became incapable of shedding tears, and all that was left was the emptiness inside of her.  After the tears stopped coming, Asuka spent most of her time contemplating what was missing in that void within her.  She concluded that her mother never loved her.  It was always that stupid doll; the crazy bitch adored that Goddamned doll better than her, just like everyone else liked Shinji better than her.  It's always "Shinji, do this," "Shinji, good job," or "Shinji, your sync ratio went up 10 points today!"  Why did everyone like Shinji better than her?  Was it because he was _nicer_ than her?  He's not nicer, he's just being a dumb bastard!  He hurts people without considering anyone else's feelings!  All the times he hurt m- -

Asuka paused.  She tried frantically to remember any moments in the past where Shinji had hurt her.  All she could remember were times he tried to help her... times Asuka never understood or paid attention to.

This realization made Asuka infuriated.  She let a scream echo through the darkness, as she groped her way through the room to look for something to break.  Instead, she threw herself on the floor, and found that she was able to cry again.  Asuka wanted to grab Shinji, to hit him, to kick him, to strangle him... 

...to see him...to talk to him...to need him...?

A confused Asuka mumbled something incoherent between her sobbing, as the darkness continued to consume her.

A kindly male voice called out to Asuka, startling her.  "Digging yourself further into the pit, I see..."

"Shinji?"  Asuka called out in the direction of this voice.  A figure materialized about 10 feet in front of her.  It was not Shinji.  However, he was wearing the same school uniform as Shinji.  He had unkempt whitish hair that seemed to illuminate the room a bit, and red eyes - - just like Rei.  Asuka sat in a combination of fear and amazement as he began to walk towards her...

-------------------------------------

"Where will it take place?"  Snake asked the doctor, who was currently having a cup of coffee she pilfered from the nearby officer's lounge.  Ritsuko Akagi has been divulging every bit of information that pertained to Third Impact and the completion of Snake's mission for the past 15 minutes.

Ritsuko took a sip of coffee, and continued to explain.  "It will take place in the Terminal Dogma, otherwise known as the LCL plant.  There's something there you might not know, but your supervisors might.  Do you know how that place makes LCL?  It comes from an Angel they keep incapacitated in there."

"An Angel?"  Snake said in amazement.

Ritsuko looked up from her mug.  "Yes, the second Angel - - Lilith.  Third Impact can begin by another Angel coming in contact with her, or by having the following elements: Lilith, Adam, a manmade Angel with a human soul, and the Lance of Longinius.  With all of this, whoever initiates the Impact would have full control over what happens next - - the 'evolution' of human beings into one perfect, singular being.  Personally, I prefer the term 'extinction' over 'evolution...'"

"However, if an Angel did happen to come in contact with Adam, extinction would have been the correct term.  Instead of a 'constructive' Third Impact (an Angel coming in contact with Lilith), there would be a 'destructive' Third Impact.  Thankfully, all 17 Angels are destroyed, making a way for the constructive Impact to happen."

"Unfortunately, the Lance is lost to us, but that doesn't mean the Impact can't happen anymore.  It just means that no one person will reign supreme over the souls of mankind.  It can still happen.  The manmade Angel is the First Child - - Rei Ayanami.  If you don't kill Gendo, you can kill her, but I'm sure that you find the task of killing a child disgusting.  I could also show you how to self-destruct the facility, but I doubt you would get out alive.  You'll just have to get to Terminal Dogma, and to Gendo.  I can show you, but I'm afraid they would kill me on the spot if they saw me out of my cell."

Snake thought for a second.  "Do you have any Codec devices here?"

"Codec...  Yes, we do," Ritsuko answered, as she got off her prison cot, and walked towards a nearby supply room.  She entered it, and returned shortly with a Codec device.  "Good, I'll be able to lead you to the Terminal Dogma with this.  These things have been very useful since their creation during pre-Second Impact.  My frequency will be 147.07," she said while placing the Codec in her ear.

(This woman is strange,) Snake thought.  "You seem enthusiastic about this," Snake asked.  "Do you have some issues with this man?"

"You could say that," Ritsuko replied darkly.  "I must warn you though," she added, "If you do manage to stop Gendo, there are others who look for the 'evolution' of the human race."

"Others?"

Ritusko smiled.  "Hmm...   So, who is your support for this?  NERV is a huge place; I'm surprised you didn't get lost."

"Well, there's this one ex-NERV employee - -"

"Akane?!?"  Ritsuko had cut Snake off.

"Yeah, she told me you two worked together at one time - -"

"That whore is working for you?" she exclaimed, her voice a mixture of surprise and anger.  "No, she'll jeopardize your whole mission!" Ristuko warned Snake.

"What do you mean?"  Snake asked worriedly.

"I MEAN that she'll endanger your whole operation! She's going to try to save- -"

The discussion was interrupted by the shattering sound of Ritsuko dropping her coffee mug as she clutched her chest in pain.  "AAAGGHH!  Akane, what the hell are you - - URRGH!!!  THE PAIN..."  She dropped on all fours, trying to catch her breath, which was shallow and heavy.

"He never loved you!  He's a cold-hearted - - AAGGH!  And so are you!!!"  She continued to clutch her left breast, as she managed to mutter her last words - -

"You... Bitch..." - - before collapsing on the floor.  A bewildered Snake saw what had happened (not this again...) as he got down on one knee to check the body's radial pulse.

"Dead..."  He dialed 140.85 on his Codec device, and pressed the call button.

"Snake, what happened?!?" Tadokoro asked.

"What happened?!?!"  Snake was furious.  "This woman just died of what looked like a heart attack!  Do you know what the cause of something like this was when I last saw it??  FOXDIE!  You bastards had better tell me everything that's going on here right now!"

Otacon showed up on the screen to try to calm down his friend.  "Snake, please calm down!  You know that the FOXDIE program was deactivated after the Shadow Moses incident.  There must be some other cause - -"

"There is no other damn cause!  It's FOXDIE... I know it."

Eliza Akane now tried her luck at calming down the spy.  "Snake, please have some sense of reason - -"

"Reasons?"  Snake snapped back.  "Reasons?  I want some reasons why she would be so pissed at you!  Why would she say that you would jeopardize this operation?"

"Look Snake, the truth is... yes, Ritsuko and I had a quarrel long ago, about a man we both had feelings for.  Obviously, she still has harsh feelings about that incident.  That, mixed in with her apparent dementia - -"

Snake interrupted.  "Dementia?"

"Yes, dementia.  Neither you, nor Tadokoro know this, but Ritsuko was placed in incarceration for murder."  Both Snake and Tadokoro lay silent in shock.  "Ritsuko had destroyed the core of the dummy plug system, which happened to be clones."

"Clones?!?"

"Yes... of the First Child, Rei Ayanami."  She was apparently very emotionally disturbed when she did this."

Tadokoro interjected.  "Why haven't you told this to us before?"

"So this is what that Clone Transfer System is for, isn't it?" Snake added.  "You said you didn't know what it was for!"

"This was all very confidential information, and did not pertain to this mission," Eliza countered.  "It was not essential for the completion of this assignment - -"

"Bullshit," Snake spat out.  "There's more to this than you're letting on, and when this is done, I'm gonna get some answers out of you."  Eliza, looking very angry and frustrated, left the Codec room inside the submarine, leaving the screen blank for a second.  Tadokoro came onto the screen.

"Look Snake... despite Dr. Akagi's death, we now exactly know where Gendo will be.  We have maps of the facility here, so we will try to lead you to the Dogma as best as we can.  Keep your focus on the mission."  Tadokoro disappeared from the screen.

Otacon's face flashed on to the Codec screen now.  "Snake," he asked, "switch to a private channel."  Snake did so.

"What is it, Otacon?"

"This doesn't smell right, Snake," Otacon said as he shook his head.  "I'll try to check out the UN and NERV personnel files for you to find more information about this.  Just try and focus on your mission and try to act professional around Eliza - - there's something not right about her, but we can't assume anything that could be false at such a critical time as this."

Snake felt a little relieved.  He could always count on Otacon for stuff like this.  "Thanks, Otacon.  Snake, out."  The Codec turned off.

Snake got up to drag the dead body to her former cell.  He worked quickly, because he knew that this place would be swarming with guards when they realize that the guards were not coming back.  Before leaving the containment unit, he made a trip to its storage room.  There, he found his knife, his specialized Five-seveN, and some ammo.  Unfortunately, he could not find any grenades.  He took his weapons, and decided to hang on to Misato's Glock to prevent any suspicions about his benefactor to surface.  Snake remembered that he was without a Soliton device, so he reminded himself to be extra careful in the hallways.  He walked out of the unit to complete his mission.

In the hallway, Snake found a security camera, and he quickly ducked back into a corner.  (I forgot... my Soliton device is broken.)  After a moment, he looked around the corner to see that it was not moving at all.  (This camera must not be working... there's no power LED indicator,) he reasoned.  Snake gingerly walked down the hallway, where there was an elevator waiting.  (No, I can't afford anymore surprises... I'll have to take the stairs.)  He found the emergency staircase next to the elevator, and headed down to Terminal Dogma.

-------------------------------------

"So you're Asuka... I don't know why he cares about you so much, if you're crying like this all the time," the mysterious figure called out to Asuka.

Asuka, on the other hand, was speechless at the boy's sudden entrance.  The only thing she could manage to utter was "W-who are y-y-you?"

The boy smiled warmly.  "Me?  No one in particular... But you can call me Kaworu.  How do I know you?  An... acquaintance of mine mentioned you once or twice in some of our conversations."  Asuka was even more confused now.  Kaworu continued to talk.  "Now, if you weren't so startled by my appearance, you'd probably ask me what I am doing here," he said as he stopped in front of Asuka.  "I'm here to help you, Asuka Langley Soryu."

Asuka had recovered from his sudden appearance.  "Help... you can't help me," she said bitterly.  "I'm way beyond anybody's help... not you, not Misato, and definitely not that idiot- -"

"- -Shinji?" Kaworu said, finishing Asuka's sentence.  "I suppose you're right, he's not in a very good condition, and I worry about him too."

Asuka got up.  "Shinji?  You know Shinji?  Where- -"  Asuka caught herself being excited about some news from Shinji, and immediately stifled this happy outburst.  "Where the hell is he now?!?  He can't help me!" she said angrily instead.

"Not very good at expressing a broad spectrum of emotions, are you?" Kaworu commented.  "This is something you need to work on, among other things."

Asuka pouted furiously.  "Me?  Improve?!?  I don't need to improve, I'm the great Asuka Lang- -"

"The same Asuka Langley Soryu who has an Evangelion sync rate of under 10%?"

This enraged Asuka.  She pulled her fist back, and tried to let a punch loose on Kaworu's chin, only to be stopped by a red-orange wall of light that threw her backwards.

"An AT-field?"  Asuka stared wide-eyed as the boy took the light into himself, making the field disappear.

"You don't mind if I protect myself, do you?  I'm really sorry if you hurt yourself, if that is possible here in this world inside your mind."

Asuka never really thought about that before.  "I'm... inside my..."

"Yes.  You are in here because you've let yourself withdraw from the outside world," Kaworu explained as he walked up to Asuka to help her up.  "You think it's a problem with everyone else, but really, the problem is- -," he said, pointing to Asuka's head, "- -in here."

Asuka did not dare attack him again, so instead she replied angrily at the comment.  "Oh!  So now, you're saying I'm a nutcase!  Is that it?"

Kaworu smiled.  "No, not at all.  You seem to be a smart young lady."  Asuka crossed her arms.  "You just need to realize what you really want," Kaworu continued.  "I don't think you're too sure about that."

"What I want?" Asuka said.  "What I want is to get the hell out of here, pilot my Eva, and squeeze the crap out of your scrawny body with it!"

Kaworu chuckled a little.  "No, thank you, that's actually quite uncomfortable.  Now, on a serious note, please keep my words in mind.  When you've reached self-actualization, your mind will release you.  I can't tell you how to do that, because deep inside, it is you and you alone who knows how to do this, Asuka Langley Soryu.  I really cannot offer any more advice, as my time here is fleeting.  The rest is up to you, if you want to help yourself."  He turned around to leave Asuka with her thoughts, and began to walk away.  (This is all I can do for you Shinji... I pray that she will be able to arrive in time to help you.  This, Shinji, is my final 'thank you...' and 'goodbye...')

"Wait!"  Asuka called from behind.  Her eyes had a look of pining she could not conceal.  "You - - You said you knew Shinji."  She chuckled nervously.  "Umm... not that it really matters to me, but how is he?"  She looked down, and was seemingly interested in her feet.

Kaworu's smile faded away.  "Not too good I'm afraid.  If you like him so much, why don't you go and see him?"

"What?!?  I never- -" Asuka objected.  But Kaworu already disappeared, leaving a very confused Asuka Langley Soryu.

What do you think?  I know something that you guys might say... why not Asuka's mother instead of Kaworu?  Well, I have plans for her... har har.

Will Asuka be able to wake up?  What killed Ritsuko so suddenly?  Will Snake complete his mission?  Find out in the next chapter of MGL:A!

Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.


	12. Keep Your Enemies Closer

Welcome to Chapter 12.  Before we start, I have a request I'd like to make.  I'm at a serious shortage of pre-readers.  I have but one, and he has quite enough to keep him busy, and I don't want to bog him down.  As of this release (4.20.2003), the pre-read has not been finished yet; this version is but a near-final draft, but it's been a long time, and I can't wait.

Therefore, I plead my case to the FFN members reading my fiction.  I need pre-readers for this story (for both old chapter rewrites and new chapters), and for my other story, _False Prophecy.  If you have experience with pre-reading and think you can help, email me.  The address is in my profile.  Please help me continue these two stories; I don't want these stories relegated to the growing pile of unfinished fan fictions.  Thanks._

And as for the final version, it will be released when my pre-reader gives me the final.  Look for it in the near future, as well as a new chapter.

-------------------------------------

Asuka stared at the blackness for a long time before finally snapping out of it.

"...Telling me what I feel and what I don't feel.  What does he know about my feelings?" she talked to herself haughtily.  However, deep down inside, a little voice was telling her,   
_...more than you are letting on..._  

Asuka let herself be humbled by this realization, and became quiet.  She sat down on the dark floor, contemplating how break free from the shadowy pit.

-------------------------------------

11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion : The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1:  Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 12: Keep Your Enemies Closer (Near-Final Draft)_

-------------------------------------

It was 8:30 in the morning.  Repairs on the Evangelion Units 01 and 02 began roughly half an hour ago in the secondary Evangelion cage.  Progress has been slow, but steady, with Eva-01 97% repaired, and Eva-02 85% repaired.

"I wonder why Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki ordered that the repairs begin in the morning?" a NERV engineer was asking another engineer.  "If we had started last night, we might have been done already."

"Yeah, that would make more sense, since we're on a high alert after those attacks," the second worker replied.  "But he probably thought it would be best for our safety that the repairs were delayed until morning."

The first worker looked down at his handheld computer console.  "Yeah, I just hope nothing happens where we would need the Evangelions."

-------------------------------------

Snake was tired.  He had been, at a brisk pace, bounding down an endless set of stairs for about an hour.  It was 10:40 in the morning, and it seemed that Snake might not be able to get to Central Dogma and Lilith in time.  

"Damn stairs," Snake muttered under his breath.  "I hate stairs."  Finally, he sat down on one of the steps for a minute to rest.  The codec called him.

It was Tadokoro.  "Snake, what's wrong?"

"I'm just... tired," Snake managed to say between gulps of air.

"You look a bit out of shape, Snake.  Maybe you should go back to dog-mushing," Otacon mused.

Snake scowled.  "I'd love to, if the snow hadn't disappeared.  Damn Second Impact..."

Tadokoro appeared on the screen again.  "Well, if you want to dog-sled again, you'd better stop the Third one.  Look, the next security gate won't take the card that you have right now.  You will have to find some way to get a card that will work.  Go down a couple more flights, and you'll see a door marked 'A092.'  Perhaps one of the guards there, possibly a lieutenant, will carry one with him.  Find the card, and get through.  You can do it, Snake."  He signed off, and Otacon appeared on the screen again.

"Otacon, what did you find?"  Snake asked him.

Otacon shook his head.  "Not much, I'm afraid," he said sadly as he stared at his computer screen.  "I've only been able to get limited biographical information about Eliza.  It's just stuff like date of birth, birthplace, and college transcripts - - stuff like that."

"They must be trying to hide something if this kind of stuff is restricted," Snake said.  "Government workers at this level go through comprehensive background checks, so there should be more than that.  Try to dig deeper if you can.  By the way, where is she?"

"She's not here.  I think she's in the mess hall of the sub.  Look Snake, I know she seems shady, but you have to try to trust her for now.  You're trying to finish this mission, remember?"

"...I'll try, but I won't make any promises," he said curtly.  "Snake, out."  Snake signed off.

Otacon pushed his glasses up, and returned to the computer he was working to dig deeper into Eliza Akane's past.  "All right Eliza, let's see what you have..."

-------------------------------------

After spending a half an hour eating something and thinking about his fellow pilots, Shinji Ikari sat down next to Asuka's bedside, which seemed to be a habit he would make daily until she woke up.  He guarded over her while listening to his S-DAT player, which he found batteries for that same morning.  Occasionally, Shinji would push a stray strand of hair away from Asuka's closed eyes, or stroke her cheek gently with his index finger.  Once, Shinji's face inched closer, bit by bit, to Asuka's, as if he were to - -  
_No_, Shinji thought, _That wouldn't be right...  Frowning, he shook his head, and moved away from Asuka's face a little bit._

Shinji noticed that Asuka's vital signs monitor showed a few small rises in the graph every now and then, which signified an increase in brain activity.  Every time this happened, Shinji got excited, hoping that Asuka might wake up right there and then.  However, the heart rate would go back down a few moments after it increased, which killed any extra hope that Shinji mustered for that second.  Shinji became weary of this, and walked out of the room.  He needed to get away for a second...

-------------------------------------

"Ritsuko's dead?!?"  Misato's eyes widened as she heard the news from one of the guards.  The entire control room was dead quiet, with the exception of Maya's constant cries of sorrow.  Misato slumped down on a chair and placed her hands on her head.  

_I shouldn't have let him escape - -_

The guard continued his report.  "It appears that Dr. Akagi's body did not have any gunshot wounds, or any sign that she was hurt externally.  The doctors say that it appears to be a heart attack."

Misato raised her head up.  "A heart attack?  No... that can't be!  Ritsuko wasn't even in her forties, and I'm sure she was healthy!"

"That's what the - -"  The guard was cut off by Maya's frantic sobs.

Lieutenant Ibuki dashed out of the control room.  Makoto Hyuga was about to follow her when - -

"Makoto, stop," Misato said.  "Leave her alone."

Makoto paused briefly, and then sat back down on his post.

Misato returned her attention to the guard.  "Are they sure it was a heart attack?"

"Yes.  Pre-autopsy findings show a 95% chance that it was a heart attack."

Misato sighed.  Ritsuko was still a friend... despite what she might have done before.  "Ritsuko..."

"Umm... will that be all, Captain Katsuragi?"

Misato snapped out of her trance.  "What? Oh, wait.  Any news about the escaped spy?"

"He is still on the loose.  With our limited resources and manpower, the power source for the security cameras won't be repaired until tomorrow, and we don't have enough guards to cover all areas in NERV."

"Just try your best," Misato said blankly.

"Yes, Captain."  The guard left the control room to return to his post.

Misato stared at the giant screen in front of her.  

_I'm taking a chance on you, Snake.  Don't blow it..._

-------------------------------------

Shinji found himself traveling towards the bowels of the NERV facility in one of their high-speed elevators.  He did not know where he was headed - - all he knew was that the elevator was going to section A092...

-------------------------------------

Snake took a careful count of the number of guards patrolling in the area by cautiously peering from behind corners.  This proved to be somewhat difficult without a Soliton device, but it was no problem to the war-hardened veteran.  There were ten of them in the hallways right now, but none wore the insignia signifying that one of them is a lieutenant or higher.  He ran into an empty room, and locked the door.

(This place appears to be where the sleeping quarters for the guards are,) Snake thought to himself.  Inside the room were several bunk beds and footlockers for the guards.  Several items of clothing and pornography magazines lay strewn about on a few of the beds.  His codec began to beep, so Snake sat down in a corner of the room and answered the call.

"This is Snake," he said as he took a few cigarettes from a small table next to a bed.  He ran out of smokes soon after his escape.

"Snake?"  It was Eliza.

Snake's distrust for Eliza could be heard in his voice.  "Oh- - you.  What do you want?" he said rudely, as he put a cigarette to his lips.

"Snake, please, I want you to trust me," she pleaded.  "I did what I thought was needed to make this a successful mission."

"..."

"Snake, I want to help you.  I want to prevent the Impact as much as you do.  All of us need to work together.  Please..."

Snake's intuition told him not to trust this woman, but... she had a point, and so did Otacon.  He was here to prevent the Third Impact, and he needed all the help he could get.  He had to trust her... for now.

"...Fine," Snake answered.  "You can help me out here.  But from now on, I don't want any secrets."

Eliza smiled.  "Understood.  Now, Snake, the part of the base that you are in contains officers' quarters and supply rooms, so it was a good idea for the commander to send you here.  What room are you in right now?"

Snake lit the cigarette with a lighter he pulled from the same table.  "It looks like I'm in the guards' sleeping quarters," he answered.

"Hmm... I doubt that you'll find a keycard in there.  A good shot is in the supply rooms, or off one of the officers there with a rank of 1st lieutenant or higher.  I suggest that you find a card with the highest security clearance possible, so you won't have to keep making stops like this.  However, here's some good news.  In the supply rooms, you may find a personal motion detector.  It monitors soldiers' heartbeats within a 300-meter area.  It doesn't show the field of vision like the Soliton does, but it should still be useful."

"That sounds good.  Ok, I'm moving out."

"Good luck, Snake."  The codec signed off.

Snake got up, when suddenly, the door opened, and a guard ran in!  Snake got into his ready stance, his hand reaching for his holstered Five-seveN... but he was ignored.  The guard made a beeline straight to the bathroom door, all the while clutching the seat of his pants.  When he closed the bathroom door, Snake let out a sigh of relief, and headed out of the quarters.  __

_I need to get that motion detector..._

Due to the lack of power in the area, lighting was sparse in the hallways.  Snake took full advantage of this, sneaking from one dark corner to another, searching for the door where he might be able to find a motion detector or a card key.  There had been a few close calls - - one in particular where the safest place to hide was behind the back of one guard in order to traverse through a hallway undetected.  After a few minutes of searching, Snake found what he was looking for - - a door marked "Supply Room."  The only problem was - -

_Damn!  It's locked_, Snake cursed to himself.  He would have to find a key card for this door.  He quickly ducked back into the shadows nearby and tried to think of a way to get inside.

His war-weary face lit up. _ Of course, Snake thought.  __The tranquilizer mode!  Snake had almost forgotten about his gun's special function.  He drew his Five-seveN, and pulled something out from the barrel of the pistol.  After placing this object in a pouch, he procured a tranquilizer dart out of another pouch, and loaded it into the barrel.  _

As luck would have it, a guard was just about to enter the hallway that Snake was in.  The guard would not be able to see Snake from where the guard was.  Snake brought his gun up so its sights would line up with the poor guard's neck.  The guard walked closer... closer...

ZZZTTT! 

The dart zipped out of the gun barrel, and landed on the poor bastard's neck.  The barbiturate took effect in a matter of seconds, placing him flat on his back.  Snake acted quickly, dragging the body to a dark corner to search it for valuable items.  He was only a PFC, and not a rank higher.  However, he did find the correct card to open the supply room.  Snake hid the body away from sight, and entered the supply room using the card.

What he found inside was a row of lockers, with each locker labeled properly.  He took several flashbangs, a few frag grenades, some Five-seveN ammo, and the motion detector he was looking for.  He turned on the device, and looked at the monitor that he clipped onto his wrist.  After the device calibrated itself to its surroundings, Snake could see the topography of the area, and the location of each guard, marked by a red dot.  He could see that the guard that he put under was gone.  

_This is trouble if he squeals_, Snake thought.  He turned the device off to save battery power.  Snake searched for extra batteries for his detector unit, and for something that could help him get through the door.

-------------------------------------

At the same time, five guards surrounded the door of the supply room, their FN P90 sub-machine guns at the ready.  One of them forced the electronic lock open, and three of them rushed in with their guns pointed at Snake.

"FREEZE!!!!!"

-------------------------------------

The elevator stopped at section A092... and the doors opened to a scene of utter destruction.  Remnants of NERV guards and personnel were scattered along the hallways, terrifying Shinji.  He saw a guard in a corner, still in one piece - - except for his bowels, which were strewn about his feet.  He was still conscious, and managed to utter - -

"_He...He's like a ghost..._" - - before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he died.

Shinji gasped loudly, stepping away from the corpse nervously.  His hands shaking, Shinji did not know what to think or do.  He pried his eyes away from the fresh corpse, and something else caught his attention - - a trail of bloody footsteps.  Every bit of logic in his body told him to stay away... run, and report this to someone else.  But he was drawn to it, in a way he had never felt before.

Shinji clenched and unclenched his right fist several times, and walked in the direction of the footsteps...

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Snake was about to reach for his Five-seveN, when he realized that it was still in tranquilizer mode.  Instead, he jumped behind a set of lockers before the three guards opened fire.  Snake stayed as low as possible, because he knew that the P90's armor-piercing rounds would make mince meat out of the locker... as well as his body.  As the guards kept pouring on the rain of bullets, Snake remembered he still had Captain Katsuragi's automatic pistol.  Smiling, he pulled it out from under his vest and stuck arm out from his hiding spot, firing blindly from around the corner.  He emptied the rest of the clip, and was answered by the grunt of one of the guards, signifying that Snake hit one of them.  Turning on his motion detector, he could see the remaining four guards getting ready to surround him from all possible angles.

"We've got him now," one of the guards exclaimed.  "Push forward!"  He heard several footsteps, which was followed by a short burst of fire, and an agonizing scream, startling Snake.

A soldier's helmeted head rolled to a stop near Snake's feet, and was followed by frantic screams and gunfire, drowned by the painful sounds that could only be made by dying men.  Snake took this time to reassemble his Five-seveN.  He stood up, and came out of the corner he was hiding in, to see five blade-ravaged bodies, and one lone man carrying a Japanese _nodachi_.  His body was covered in gunmetal-grey armor, and he wore a mask that had two green glowing eyes.  He certainly looked menacing, and the bodies on the floor can certainly vouch for that fact.  Snake could feel those unnaturally green eyes figuratively burning a hole in his head, but he wouldn't let himself be intimidated.  He spoke up.

"Who the hell are you?" Snake called out to the masked man, pointing his gun at him.

After a long pause, the stranger finally said in Japanese, "I am like you... I have no name..."

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END PHASE 12

Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.


	13. I regret to say that this is the end

I was hoping it would not end this way, but unfortunately, it must happen.  I have decided to scrap _Apocalypse_, and all of the _Third Impact Trilogy_.  I hate to do this, as I was determined never to abandon any project that I start, but circumstances prevent me from continuing.

It was my first try at fan fiction writing, and I will admit that most of it is not very good at all.  The earlier chapters, before I tried to make them better by rewriting them, downright sucked ass.  The whole project was also very ambitious on my part; perhaps too ambitious for my own good.  The idea is good, but...  Well, what I'm trying to say is, I've lost the will to write for it.  I've lost almost any inspiration for writing more chapters for that story, and that last few months when I haven't written anything about it feels like one big writer's block.

In addition, I am currently starting as a freshman in college, and I know I will have a lot on my hands.  It is a simple matter of priorities, and I have priorities that are higher than my fan fiction.

I have not totally abandoned fan fiction, however.  With _Third Impact_ gone, I still have two projects to keep me busy; _The Program_, a new Battle Royale-influenced Eva fic which I co-write with Bad Ronald, and _False Prophecy_, An Eva/Matrix fusion (currently under hiatus, as I am determined to finish _The Program_ first.  Again, another matter of priorities; it is more challenging to work with another writer hundreds of miles away, so I require all the time I can muster for that project).

I can only hope that from this blunder, I've learned to become a better writer, so I can create something that readers can enjoy more.  I will not delete this story, but instead keep it around, for sentimentality and all that crap.  There might be a small chance that I might revive the idea in a different form, but it is unlikely.  For anyone who followed this story and was left hanging; I apologize.

However, if you are interested in picking up the project, I would be more than happy to assist you.  You may contact me by either emailing me or IM'ing me (in my profile), or you can find me hanging out in the Darkscribes and Evafics.org forums.  Of course, any other types of comments/criticisms/death threats are welcome as well.

Here is to hoping that something better can come out of this.  Thank you for reading.

Now, here is the small portion of chapter 13 that I managed to finish.  It isn't much, and it is only a preliminary draft, but it's a sign of what could have been.

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"I am like you… I have no name…"  The ninja's raspy voice seemed to echo in the NERV locker room, splattered with bullet holes and gore.

Snake, with his Five-seveN still pointed at the strange warrior in front of him, looked around a second time to survey the carnage the ninja had wrought upon the NERV security personnel.  Various appendages and miscellaneous body organs littered the floor, now wet with blood.

"So, you are the other intruder in NERV.  I can see why Major Katsuragi thinks highly of you, American soldier.  Remarkable, that you were able to reach this far... but you did not do it alone."

"The security cameras..." Snake murmured.  The Ninja nodded once.

"Wait a second... how did you know about Katsuragi?  Are you with - -"

"NERV?" the ninja said, finishing Snake's sentence.  "I know all that takes place in this hell... but I owe allegiance to no man."

The ninja flipped his sword in his hand and held it so the blade was pointed backwards and downwards.

"I needed you to live, intruder.  I simply delayed your demise, but I am impressed at your stubborn refusal to expire..."

"What are you doing here in Tokyo-3?"

"I hail from a place where it is neither living nor dead…" he said in Japanese.  "A crossroads between the two.  I come to seek retribution, for I have been wronged…"

"Wronged by who?"

"...by the man that you seek."

"Not before I get to him first," snarled Snake.  "I may need him alive- -"

The ninja interrupted Snake, and readied himself to fight.  "Hah!  You lie!  You come to seek the same end I am after.  Your intentions are good, but you shall not deny me of my justice!  The Third Impact will cease, but by my hands alone!"  He gripped his sword.  "Prepare to defend yourself, foreigner!"

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11-41 Studios presents - -

**Evangelion :**** The Third Impact Trilogy**

A new Evangelion fan fiction saga in three parts.

**_Part 1: Apocalypse_**

Evangelion/Metal Gear Crossover

_Chapter 13:_

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Snake gripped his gun tighter.  "I don't know what the hell you're talking about… but I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

"We shall see."  With those words, the ninja lifted his sword up, and charged Snake with great speed.  Snake was almost caught off guard, and he rolled to the right to evade the vicious downward slash intended for him, and fired off three shots from his pistol.  One bullet managed to make its mark, hitting the ninja on his side, but the other two were expertly deflected by the ninja's large _nodachi_ blade.

Snake would have fired another round, if it weren't for the ninja kicking the gun free from his hand.  The ninja slashed horizontally at Snake, but Snake was able to leap backwards and fall on his back, just barely escaping a potentially mortal wound.  Still lying down, Snake used his left foot to connect a sweep kick on the ninja's unprotected legs, effectively tripping him.  Snake rolled back and was now on one knee, while the ninja used one hand to spring himself up from the floor.

Snake picked himself up as well, and both fighters paused for a brief moment.

The ninja, now sheathing his sword, used his free hand to painfully dig the bullet out of his flesh with his fingers, groaning agonizingly.  He tossed the bullet towards Snake's feet.

"Impressive, intruder.  I should not have been so careless," he hissed in Japanese.  "Very well then.  Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon.  We shall battle unarmed…" The ninja placed himself in a fighting stance.

Not this again… 

Snake holstered his weapon, and raised his fists up, ready to anticipate the ninja's attacks.

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Story (c) 2003 11-41 Studios.  All characters used in this story belong to their respective owners.


End file.
